Podcasts about jewish christians

Segment 1 • Why do churches split over doctrine when everyone claims to follow the same Bible? • Todd traces modern church confusion back to a little-known Jewish revolt that changed Christian history forever. • Could the loss of a “plain sense” reading of Scripture be why Christians can't agree on basic truths anymore? Segment 2 • The Bar Kokhba revolt didn't just crush Jerusalem — Todd argues it reshaped the entire trajectory of biblical interpretation. • Jewish Christians were squeezed out from both sides, leaving Gentile leadership to redefine how Scripture was read. • What happens when “hidden meanings” become more important than what the Bible actually says? Segment 3 • Todd explains how allegorical interpretation opened the door to wildly different doctrines and endless theological confusion. • Did replacement theology grow out of bad hermeneutics instead of sound biblical interpretation? • Early church leaders began treating the “literal” meaning of Scripture as inferior — and the consequences still linger today. Segment 4 • The Reformers fought to recover a grammatical-historical reading of Scripture after centuries of allegorical dominance. • Todd compares ancient allegorical methods to modern deconstruction: “It's not what the text says — it's what it doesn't say.” • If your church doesn't share the same hermeneutic, are division and doctrinal chaos inevitable? ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn't be more thankful for you if we tried!

Does the land of Israel still matter in a modern, digital world? Christopher Kuehl, author of Is God a Zionist? sits down with Shelley Neese to unpack the complex history of Jewish-Christian relations and the biblical case for Israel. From debunking "Replacement Theology" to addressing the tough questions asked by Gen Z, this conversation dives deep into why the physical restoration of Israel is a modern-day miracle. Discover how ancient prophecies in Ezekiel are unfolding before our eyes and why supporting Israel is rooted in the very character of God.

The Apostle Paul highlights Israel crossing the Red Sea to encourage the 1st-century Jewish Christian to persevere in their profession of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Get the notes!Unlocking the Depth of Hebrews 1:1–3 | Complete Masterclass CurriculumFor many believers, the opening verses of the Book of Hebrews are familiar, yet their profound theological weight is often left unexamined. In just three verses, the author packs an astonishing amount of covenant history, original Greek wordplay, and high-priestly imagery to establish one undeniable truth: Jesus Christ is supreme over all.If you are looking to take your church, small group, or personal study past surface-level readings and into a rigorous, substantive exploration of scripture, our newly released Hebrews 1:1–3 Complete Masterclass Curriculum provides the ultimate professional-grade framework.The Core Lesson: The Supremacy and Sufficiency of the SonThe letter to the Hebrews was originally written to first-century Jewish Christians who were enduring intense social persecution and alienation. Under immense pressure, many were tempted to abandon their faith in Christ and retreat to the familiar, comfortable rituals of the old temple system.To counter this danger, the author of Hebrews builds an unshakeable, “better than” defense of the Christian faith, starting with the very nature of divine revelation:1. From Fragmentary Past to Final PresentIn the Old Covenant, God spoke polymerōs (“in many portions”) and polytropōs (“in many ways”). For over a millennium, revelation unfolded fragment by fragment through visions, types, and the lived object lessons of mere human prophets. But “in these last days,” God has spoken a final, definitive word to us en huiō—“in a Son”. This isn't just a change in message; it is a massive qualitative upgrade in the status of the Messenger.2. The Essential Deity of ChristJesus is explicitly revealed as the apaugasma (the absolute radiance and outshining) of God's glory and the charaktēr (the flawless, exact representation) of His essential nature. Because God does not share His glory with created beings, these precise terms establish Christ's absolute equality with the Father. He is not a lesser duplicate; He is God manifest in bodily form, actively upholding the entire cosmic order and the laws of physics by His powerful word.3. The Finished Work of the High PriestPerhaps the most revolutionary insight for a Jewish audience was the declaration that Christ “sat down” after making purification for sins. In the ancient Tabernacle and Temple structures, there were no chairs. The Aaronic priests could never sit because animal sacrifices only covered sin, meaning their work was never finished. Jesus, operating under the eternal order of Melchizedek, offered His own blood once and for all, completely removing sin and sitting down to signal that our redemption is eternally complete.Packaged for Your Ministry: What's Inside the Curriculum BundleTo help you seamlessly transfer these rich theological truths to your congregation or study circle, we have packaged this exhaustive study into a clean, publication-ready digital download. Built with structural outlines and indentations, the text copies perfectly into Microsoft Word for effortless printing and distribution.The complete package includes: Teacher's Instructional Guide: A strategic blueprint featuring an instructional roadmap, critical Greek linguistic breakdowns, historical context explanations, and engaging classroom discussion starters. Student Study Guide: A comprehensive student companion complete with a detailed vocabulary tracker (propitiation, apaugasma, charaktēr), a structural outline, and targeted reflection questions for personal life application. Evaluation Quiz: A clean, standalone, 10-question multiple-choice assessment sheet designed to reinforce student comprehension without spoiling the answers. Answer Key & Detailed Explanations: A thorough grading asset that provides paragraph-length theological defenses for every correct answer, turning evaluation into an additional teaching opportunity.Elevate Your Biblical Teaching TodayStop settling for surface-level curriculum. Give your students the substantive, mature, and objective biblical instruction they are looking for.Whether you are preaching from the pulpit, leading a Sunday school class, or guiding a home small group, the Hebrews 1:1–3 Complete Masterclass Curriculum will bring academic rigor and deep spiritual assurance to your study.[Click Here to Download the Full Hebrews 1:1–3 Curriculum Pack Now]Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For centuries, many Christians believed that the Church had replaced Israel in God's covenantal plan. But what happens when the Jewish people return to their ancestral homeland after nearly two thousand years? And what does the Catholic Church actually teach about the Jewish people, the land of Israel, and Zionism? In this episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Doug Reed and Rabbi Pesach Wolicki speak with Catholic theologian Dr. Andre Villeneuve of Catholics for Israel about one of the most important and controversial questions in Jewish-Christian relations today: Can a faithful Catholic also be a Zionist? Drawing on Scripture, Church history, Vatican documents, and modern Catholic theology, Dr. Villeneuve explains why he believes support for Israel is deeply rooted in the Bible and fully compatible with Catholic faith. The conversation explores supersessionism, the legacy of Vatican II, the tension between Catholic tradition and modern politics, and why many Christians struggle to reconcile theology with the reality of Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel. The episode also reflects on a remarkable moment in Washington, DC, where major Orthodox Jewish organizations publicly partnered with evangelical Christian groups in support of Israel, signaling a historic shift in Jewish-Christian relations. This is a thoughtful and candid conversation about covenant, Scripture, theology, history, and the future of Christian support for Israel.

What does it look like when a Jewish New Testament scholar sits down with a Christian host to talk about how two ancient traditions read the same texts — and reach such different conclusions? That's exactly the conversation host Jean Geran has with Dr. Amy-Jill Levine in this wide-ranging episode recorded in Madison, Wisconsin.AJ Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School, and one of the most respected voices in Jewish-Christian dialogue today. She recently joined us for our Questions of Faith event in Oshkosh and spent time in Wisconsin as a scholar in residence at First United Methodist Church in Madison.WHAT YOU WILL LEARNHow growing up Jewish in a Portuguese Roman Catholic neighborhood in Massachusetts led AJ to a lifetime of studying the New TestamentWhy the Torah is said to have "70 faces" — and what that means for how Jews and Christians approach interpretation differentlyWhat Jews and Christians share in terms of canon, prayer, and Scripture — and where they meaningfully divergeAJ's surprisingly practical take on salvation, Torah-observance, and whether Jews worry about getting into heavenWhy Jesus used parables — and why he rarely explained themThe difference between Jewish communal identity and Christian individualism, and what each tradition can learn from the otherBaseball vs. football: a memorable analogy for understanding Jewish and Christian orientations toward time, memory, and the futureThe Hebrew concept of tzaddik (the righteous one) and what it means to bless the city you're inWhether shared stories can bridge religious and cultural divides — and AJ's honest, unsentimental answerLament as relationship: what Tevye, the Psalms, and Job have in common, and why arguing with God keeps us in the conversationGUESTAmy-Jill Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and College of Arts and Science, and the author of numerous books including Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi and The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus.Send us Fan MailCONNECT WITH USSubscribe to The UpWords Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and visit slbf.org/studio to learn more about our work at the intersection of faith, the academy, and the marketplace.This episode was created by the SLBF STUDIO at Upper House.Produced by Daniel Johnson and Dave ConourEdited by Dave Conour

What happens when someone decides a legacy is too important to let fade? In this episode, David Peters shares the story behind Ten Boom Coffee and how Corrie ten Boom's life deeply shaped his family.  What began as a vision for a coffee shop in Jerusalem became something much bigger: a mission centered on remembrance, reconciliation, and standing with the Jewish people. Through stories of the Holocaust, faith under pressure, and the healing power of hospitality, this conversation explores how ordinary things - like coffee and conversation - can carry extraordinary meaning. It's a powerful reminder that courage is never just historical. Every generation has to decide what it will do with the stories it inherits. Key Takeaways Corrie ten Boom's legacy continues to impact Jews and Christians today Hospitality and conversation can become acts of reconciliation The Holocaust still shapes Jewish-Christian relationships Standing against antisemitism requires visible action Faith becomes real when it costs something Coffee culture can create meaningful spiritual connection Small acts of remembrance can carry generational impact Chapter Markers  00:00 – Introduction and the missing coffee joke 02:00 – The vision behind Ten Boom Coffee 05:00 – Corrie ten Boom's connection to David's family 08:00 – Coffee, hospitality, and intentional conversations 12:00 – Supporting Israeli agricultural innovation 16:00 – Corrie's stories from the concentration camps 20:00 – Jewish relationships and healing historical wounds 25:00 – The meaning behind the logo and Star of David 29:00 – Navigating antisemitism in today's culture 33:00 – The future of Ten Boom Coffee and café vision Visit https://thejewishroad.com for more conversations exploring Israel, faith, and Jewish-Christian relationships. To learn more about David Peters and support Ten Boom Coffee, visit: https://tenboom.coffee You can also revisit Corrie ten Boom's story through The Hiding Place and continue carrying forward a legacy of courage, reconciliation, and love for the Jewish people.

Tony Gurule & Olin Giles review Dr. Daniel Janosik's book, "The Guide to Answering Islam: What Every Christian Needs to Know About Islam and the Rise of Radical Islam", and you can get your copy HERE! https://amzn.to/4tOo6PN Read each chapter, and then listen to their commentary on each chapter as they make their way through the book! Website: https://RadicalTruth.net Donate: https://RadicalTruth.net/Donate ** ALL Donations are Tax-Deductible **

The writer to the Hebrews was, as Martin Luther suggested, probably Apollos. He was a man skilled in his knowledge of the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (Psalms and wisdom literature) who was also trained in rhetoric (the art of persuasive communication) and wrote to the beleagured Jewish Christians in Rome about the need to endure and remain faithful. He demonstrated through this message that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah, the "anointed one" ('the Christ'), and that Christ was the fulfilment of the tabernacle/temple, the priesthood, the sacrifices and the ceremonies and rituals prescribed in the Old Testament. His sermonic letter to this first century Christian Hebrew community is a model of how to structure a persuasive sermon. This is why his conclusion is worthy of our admiration and deper consideration. A sermon is not merely the impartation of information or even a hyped-up moment of inspiration. A sermon should make a compelling case and lead to an achievable call-to-action. This is precisely how the closing two chapters of Hebrews reads. Chapter 12 lays the theological summary of what has been presented throughout this sermon and chapter 13 gives a very practical and short list of all of the immediate consequences of this theology. The original audience were called to continue in brotherly love (Heb. 13:1), care for those fellow believers who have been imprisoned, be sexually faithful to the one they are married to, and to be honouring and respectful toward those leaders God had called to care for their souls. Watch today's daily Bible reading in the Journey Through the Entire Bible in One Year: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtlWLsHwjdASfAM2VBzPgdSpXJaE4B2ra For more Biblical teaching via podcast subscribe to Messages That Matters with Dr. Andrew Corbett on iTunes, Soundcloud or Spotify: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/messages-that-matter-by-dr-andrew-corbett/id1059252114 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3GuYKpgiAyKiF56LCekRSS Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/DrAndrewC Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/u/0/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zb3VuZGNsb3VkLmNvbS91c2Vycy9zb3VuZGNsb3VkOnVzZXJzOjY5NjkzNjY5L3NvdW5kcy5yc3M For Biblical Thinking Resources - https://www.andrewcorbett.net/ Read “The Most Embarrassing Book in the Bible -understanding the Book of Revelation” on Kindle https://www.amazon.com/MOST-EMBARRASSING-BOOK-BIBLE-ebook/dp/B0081RZ91O/ Read “Authentic Apostolic Leadership - Structure For the Church” https://www.amazon.com/Authentic-Apostolic-Leadership-Structure-Church-ebook/dp/B003GIRESO/

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) Corey Nathan, host of "Talkin' Politics and Religion Without Killin' Each Other" joins Wilk for a conversation about what it actually takes to bridge divides, starting with one of the hardest conversations a person can have: telling your Orthodox Jewish father you've become a Christian.They dig into the real mechanics of tribalism — how confirmation bias works, why the reticular activating system locks us into one-sided views of the world, and how outrage entrepreneurs profit from keeping people angry at each other.But this isn't just a diagnosis. Corey and Wilk talk about practical ways to shift your frame of reference, why one degree of movement matters more than a 180-degree conversion, and what it looks like to stay in relationship with people you profoundly disagree with.If you've ever lost someone — not to death, but to a divide — this one is worth your time.Learn more about and connect with Corey Nathan by checking out the full show notes for this episode at www.DerateTheHate.com.The world is a better place if we are better people. That begins with each of us as individuals. Be kind to one another. Be grateful for all you've got. Make every day the day that you want it to be!Please follow The Derate The Hate podcast on:Facebook, Instagram, Twitter(X) ,  YouTube Subscribe to us wherever you enjoy your audio or from our site. Please leave us a rating and feedback on Apple podcasts or other platforms. You can share your thoughts or request Wilk for a speaking engagement on our contact page: DerateTheHate.com/ContactThe Derate The Hate podcast is proudly produced in collaboration with Braver Angels — America's largest grassroots, cross-partisan organization working toward civic renewal and bridging partisan divides. Learn more: BraverAngels.orgWelcome to the Derate The Hate Podcast!*The views expressed by Wilk, his guest hosts &/or guests on the Derate The Hate podcast are their own and should not be attributed to any organization they may otherwise be affiliated with.

Daily Dose of Hope April 27, 2026   Scripture: Titus 1   Prayer:  Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, That my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, That my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, That I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, To defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, That I always may be holy.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan.  We have been journeying through Paul's letters and we have made great progress.  Today, we are starting pastoral letter #12 out of 13.  Our reading for today is Titus 1.  This is a letter from Paul to his dear friend, Titus.  Paul had left Titus on the island of Crete to organize the church there and carry on the work that was started.  One of his main tasks was to appoint elders or overseers for the local churches; this means basically choose some pastors.  There were specific characteristics for the pastors that Paul outlines in this chapter, including being blameless, being faithful to a single wife, and not being prone to anger or drunkenness.  These are consistent with the lists for elders in Paul's other letters as well. This first chapter highlights that the false teachers have made it to Crete as well.  The circumcision group refers to Jewish Christians who are vehemently promoting the idea that to be a Christian, one must be a Jew first, which includes becoming circumcised.  Paul wants this group silenced.  They are teaching against the Gospel, which clearly states that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  All that is required for salvation is faith; anyone who adds to this is a false teacher.  Think about the world we live in.  False teachers are everywhere.  They may not be promoting circumcision as a prerequisite for salvation but other ideas that are equally damaging.  How important it is for us to grow our roots down deep into God's Word so that we won't be swayed by the many ideas out there, the many voices that are vying for our attention.  One voice matters-Jesus. Blessings, Pastor Vicki      

Rabbi Pesach Wolicki - Shared Destiny: The Interwoven Narratives of Jewish and Christian Support for Israel Rabbi Pesach Wolicki joins us to discuss his background growing up in an Orthodox Jewish family in Canada and his move to Israel, where he advocated for families of missing soldiers. He describes his first encounters with Christian Zionists, the development of his work building relations between Jewish and Christian communities, and the biblical understanding of the modern State of Israel as the fulfillment of long-standing prophecies. We also address differences between religious and secular Jewish communities in Israel and the diaspora, and examines replacement theology. Rabbi Pesach Wolicki is an Orthodox rabbi, author, and Executive Director of Israel 365 Action. Born in the United States and raised in Canada as the son of a rabbi, he moved to Israel in the early 1990s. He began his public work advocating for families of Israeli soldiers missing in action from conflicts in Lebanon and has since become a leading voice in Jewish-Christian relations. A former synagogue rabbi and dean of a yeshiva, he now lectures widely at Christian institutions and co-hosts the Shoulder to Shoulder podcast with Pastor Doug Reed. Connect with Pesach...

This guide covers the four Revised Common Lectionary readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year A (May 3, 2026). The week's texts circle around two related questions: * what does it look like to trust God when everything is falling apart, and * what is the community of faith being built into? Stephen dies praying for his killers. The psalmist says their times are in God's hands. First Peter calls the church a living temple still under construction. And Jesus, the night before his own death, tells his frightened friends not to let their hearts be troubled.The ReadingsActs 7:55–60The First Lesson — The Stoning of StephenSummaryStephen has just finished a long speech before the Jewish council in Jerusalem — a retelling of Israel's history that ends with a sharp accusation: the council has done what their ancestors did and resisted the Holy Spirit. The crowd is furious. But Stephen, filled with the Spirit, looks up and says he can see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. That is the final straw. They rush at him, drag him out of the city, and stone him. As they do, Stephen prays two prayers: one asking Jesus to receive his spirit, and one asking God not to hold this sin against his attackers. He says the second one kneeling down, and then he dies. The text notes in passing that a young man named Saul is standing there, approving of the execution.Key Ideas for Preaching1. Stephen's final prayers are direct echoes of Jesus on the cross — committing his spirit to God and asking forgiveness for those killing him. This is not coincidence in the telling of the story. We can explore what it means to die the way Jesus died, and how that kind of dying becomes a form of witness.2. The vision of the Son of Man standing — not seated — at the right hand of God is worth pausing on. In most other texts the image is of Jesus seated. Here he is standing, as if rising to receive Stephen. That small detail carries significant pastoral warmth. God is not indifferent to what is happening.3. Saul is introduced with chilling brevity: he was there and he approved. This one sentence sets up one of the most important turning points in the whole book of Acts. We may want to use this moment to reflect on how proximity to events — even terrible ones — plants seeds whose growth we cannot predict.4. Stephen's prayer for his killers puts forgiveness in the most extreme possible context. This is not forgiving a minor slight. It's an honest struggle to ask how hard this is, without making it sound like a simple requirement. What enables someone to pray this way? The text points to what Stephen was seeing.Significant Cautions⚠ Stephen's speech leading up to this passage includes pointed criticism of the Jerusalem leadership, and it has historically been used to fuel anti-Jewish sentiment. Preachers should be careful to locate the conflict within an internal first-century Jewish debate, not as a universal verdict on Jewish people or Judaism as a whole.⚠ Martyrdom accounts can be preached in ways that romanticize or even encourage suffering and death. Be careful not to hold Stephen up as someone to imitate in a way that suggests his death was straightforwardly good or desirable. The text mourns his death even as it honors his faithfulness.⚠ The mention of Saul's approval is easy to treat as mere scene-setting. But it deserves to be named honestly: the same person who would later write much of the New Testament participated in this killing. That is uncomfortable, and it should be. There's something here (or coming) about what it means to be truly converted.Psalm 31:1–5, 15–16The Psalm — Refuge in CrisisSummaryThis psalm is a cry for help from someone in serious trouble — pursued by enemies, trapped, and frightened. The speaker turns to God as a place to hide, a strong fortress, and the one who can pull them out of the net that has been set for them. Verses 15 and 16 reach the heart of the psalm's trust: ‘My times are in your hand.' Whatever is happening, and however little control the speaker has over it, God holds the clock. The psalm ends with a plea for God's face to shine and for deliverance to come.Key Ideas for Preaching1. The phrase ‘my times are in your hand' is one of the most quietly powerful statements of trust in the Psalter. It does not claim that everything will turn out fine. It claims that the one who holds time is trustworthy. We can open up the difference between those two things for a congregation.2. Paired with the death of Stephen, this psalm gives language for what it might feel like to face mortal danger with faith intact. Stephen's vision and his prayers suggest someone who had already internalized something like this psalm — not that death is easy, but that God holds what we cannot hold ourselves.3. The image of God as a rock, a fortress, and a hiding place is physical and concrete. God is not an abstraction here but a place to go. We may well ask: what does it look like in practice to run to God rather than away from difficulty?Significant Cautions⚠ The psalm's language about enemies is vivid and personal. In the context of worship, be thoughtful about how ‘enemies' is interpreted. The text is not an invitation to name specific people as targets of divine punishment — it is the prayer of someone overwhelmed, using the language available to them.⚠ Verse 5 — ‘Into your hand I commit my spirit' — is the verse Jesus quotes from the cross in Luke's Gospel. It is also traditionally used at the time of death. If preached alongside the Stephen text, be aware that this verse may carry deep weight for people in the congregation who are grieving or facing serious illness.1 Peter 2:2–10The Epistle — Living StonesSummaryThe letter calls its readers to crave the word the way newborn babies crave milk — purely, instinctively, urgently. They have already tasted that the Lord is good, and that taste should create appetite, not satisfaction. The passage then builds a picture of the church as a living temple, not made of cut stone, but of people — each a living stone being built into something together. Christ is the cornerstone, the one the builders rejected but whom God placed at the foundation. Those who trust in him will not be put to shame. And those who belong to this community are named in layered, rich terms: a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people — called out of darkness into remarkable light.Key Ideas for Preaching1. The image of spiritual milk and growing appetite is unusual and worth dwelling on. Many people in a congregation have lost the hunger they once had for Scripture, prayer, or worship. The text does not scold them for this — it invites them to taste again and see what happens. We could use this image to reopen a conversation about spiritual hunger without making people feel guilty for being dry.2. The ‘living stones' image is a genuinely striking way to describe the church. Each person is a stone — not decorative, but structural. The building does not hold together without each one. This gives a theological grounding to the practical reality that every person in the congregation matters.3. The string of titles in verses 9–10 — chosen, royal, holy, God's own — were originally applied to Israel in the Hebrew scriptures and are here applied to the church, a community that includes Gentiles. We may need to help the congregation hear these not as credentials they earned but as a description of who God has made them. The emphasis falls on what they were called to do: proclaim the mighty acts of the one who called them.4. The cornerstone that the builders rejected is a direct reference to Psalm 118, which Jesus applied to himself. The image connects back to Stephen's death and forward to what the church is being built into. Rejection is not the end of the story.Significant Cautions⚠ The titles in verses 9–10 — ‘chosen race,' ‘holy nation,' and so on — have been used to justify religious exclusivism or even nationalism. We want to be clear that these are descriptions of a community defined by calling and trust, not by ethnicity, culture, or any human marker of identity.⚠ The use of Israel's titles for the church has a complicated history in relation to Jewish-Christian relations. This text has sometimes been read as suggesting the church has replaced Israel. We want to avoid that reading and instead note that the letter is drawing on a shared inheritance, not canceling it.⚠ The ‘newborn infants' image for spiritual hunger can be misread as a call for people to remain permanently childlike in their faith — dependent, unquestioning, always needing to be fed. The context makes clear this is about appetite and receptivity, not permanent immaturity.John 14:1–14The Gospel — The Way, the Truth, and the LifeSummaryJesus is at the table with his disciples on the night before he dies, and he is trying to prepare them for what is coming. He tells them not to let their hearts be troubled — he is going to prepare a place for them, and he will come back and take them to be with him. Thomas pushes back honestly: they do not know where he is going, so how can they know the way? Jesus answers with one of the most famous lines in John's Gospel: he is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him. Philip then asks to be shown the Father, and Jesus responds with some surprise: after all this time, Philip still does not recognize that seeing Jesus is seeing the Father. The passage ends with a promise: whoever trusts in Jesus will do the works he has done, and even greater ones, because he is going to the Father.Key Ideas for Preaching1. This passage opens with a pastoral word: ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.' Jesus says this to people who are about to go through the worst night of their lives. It is not a command to suppress grief or pretend things are fine — it is an invitation to locate their trust somewhere steady. We can help people sit with that distinction carefully.2. Thomas's question is one of the most honest moments in the Gospels. (Why we called him “Honest Thomas” a few weeks ago!) He does not pretend to understand. He says plainly: we do not know where you are going. Jesus does not scold him. He answers. We can use Thomas here to give the congregation permission to ask the questions they are actually carrying.3. The claim ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life' is one of the most contested verses in John's Gospel. We want to address it directly rather than skipping past its difficulty. It is worth exploring what Jesus means by ‘way' — not a set of rules, but a person to follow — before moving to what is claimed about the Father. I still like what Eugene Peterson had to say (at length) on this matter:We can't suppress the Jesus way in order to sell the Jesus truth. The Jesus way and the Jesus truth must be congruent. Only when the Jesus way is organically joined with the Jesus truth do we get the Jesus life.”― Eugene H. Peterson, The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the Way4. Philip's request — ‘show us the Father and that will be enough for us' — is deeply human. Most people in the congregation have, at some point, wanted exactly that: a clear, unambiguous sight of God. Jesus' answer is that they have already been given it. 5. The promise that believers will do ‘greater works' than Jesus is genuinely puzzling and often glossed over. It is worth addressing honestly. The clue is in the reason Jesus gives: he is going to the Father. The resurrection and the Spirit's coming make possible a wider reach than Jesus' own earthly ministry had. This is not about individual superpowers — it is about a community continuing a movement.Significant Cautions⚠ The verse ‘no one comes to the Father except through me' has been used as a blunt instrument in conversations about salvation and who is included or excluded. We should engage it honestly rather than either avoiding it or using it to draw sharp lines around other religious traditions. The context is pastoral — Jesus is comforting grieving disciples, not issuing a theological boundary statement.⚠ The ‘many dwelling places' in the Father's house has been heavily freighted with speculation about heaven and the afterlife. The text does not describe what those dwelling places look like. Be careful to resist the temptation to fill in what the text leaves open, and instead focus on the promise itself: there is room, and Jesus is preparing it.⚠ The claim that seeing Jesus is seeing the Father is one of John's deepest theological commitments. It is also easily misread as making Jesus and the Father identical in every way. The Gospel itself maintains distinction alongside unity. We do not need to resolve this fully, but we should not flatten it either.Thematic ConnectionsThe thread running through all four readings this week is trust in the face of things we cannot control. Stephen cannot stop what is happening to him, but he can choose what he does with his final moments — and he chooses prayer. The psalmist cannot see how their situation will resolve, but they name their trust in the one who holds their times. First Peter tells a scattered, vulnerable community that they are being built into something that will last. And John 14 begins with Jesus telling his closest friends not to let fear run the show.John 14 is the natural center for preaching this week — it is rich and wide enough for a full sermon on its own. But Acts 7 offers a powerful alternative angle: what does trust look like not in a quiet moment of reflection but in the worst moment of a life? A preacher willing to sit in that question without resolving it too quickly will find a great deal to work with. The psalm and First Peter can serve as supporting voices in either direction.Narrative LectionaryThis guide covers the Narrative Lectionary reading for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year 4 (May 3, 2026). The primary text is Paul's sermon in Athens — one of the most unusual moments in Acts, where Paul finds himself in the middle of a philosophically sophisticated city full of altars to gods he does not recognize. Rather than leading with condemnation, he starts with what he finds and builds from there. The supplemental verses from John 1 name what Paul is ultimately pointing toward: the God whom no one has seen has been made known in Jesus Christ, from whose fullness we have all received grace upon grace.The ReadingActs 17:16–31The Primary Text — Paul's Sermon at AthensSummaryPaul arrives in Athens while waiting for his companions and finds himself deeply unsettled by how many idols fill the city. He begins debating in the synagogue with Jews and God-fearers, and then in the public square with anyone who will listen. Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encounter him and bring him to the Areopagus — Athens' formal court of intellectual and civic life — to explain this new teaching they keep hearing about. They note, somewhat dismissively, that he seems to be talking about foreign gods. Paul stands up and starts not with an attack but with an observation: he can see that the Athenians are very religious people. He even found an altar inscribed ‘To an Unknown God.' That, he says, is exactly what he has come to tell them about.Paul then speaks in terms his audience can follow. The God who made the world does not live in temples made by human hands and does not need anything from us — God is the one who gives life and breath to everything. God made every nation from one source and set the boundaries of where they live, so that people everywhere might search for God and perhaps find him, though God is not actually far from any of us. Paul even quotes their own poets: ‘In him we live and move and have our being,' and ‘We are his offspring.' If we are God's offspring, then God cannot be made of gold or silver or stone shaped by human imagination. God has overlooked the times of ignorance, but now calls everyone everywhere to turn around, because a day of judgment is coming. The judge has been appointed — and God raised him from the dead as proof. At the mention of resurrection, some laugh, some want to hear more, and a few believe.Key Ideas for Preaching1. Paul does not open by telling the Athenians they are wrong. He opens by telling them he has been looking at what they have built and finds them genuinely religious. The altar to an unknown god is his starting point, not an object of ridicule. This is a remarkable model of how to enter a conversation with people outside the faith — starting with what is already there rather than what is missing.2. The God Paul describes is not contained in any building, does not need anything, and is already close to every human being. This is a picture of God that cuts against every form of religious gatekeeping. Preachers can ask: how does a congregation hold this truth — that God is not far from anyone — alongside a commitment to proclaiming Jesus specifically?3. Paul quotes the Athenians' own poets back to them. He finds truth about God already present in their tradition and uses it as a bridge. This is a rare moment in Acts, and it raises a genuinely important question for preachers: where do we see true things about God showing up outside the walls of the church? How do we engage those places?4. The audience splits at the mention of resurrection. Some laugh, some want to hear more, some believe. Paul does not chase the laughers or try to convince the skeptical. He states what he came to say and lets people respond as they will. (He has spoken his piece and counted to three, so to speak.) 5. The sermon ends with a call to turn around — the same basic movement as every other proclamation in Acts, just dressed in different clothes. The framework is cultural and philosophical rather than scriptural, but the destination is the same. Preachers can explore what it looks like to say the same essential thing to very different audiences without simply giving the same sermon.Significant Cautions⚠ It is tempting to use this passage as a simple endorsement of cultural engagement or interfaith dialogue. The passage is more complicated than that — Paul is genuinely troubled by the idols around him, and his sermon ends with a clear call to leave them behind. A sermon that only celebrates Paul's openness without noting where he still draws a line will miss the tension the text holds.⚠ The phrase ‘times of ignorance God overlooked' has sometimes been read as dismissive of all non-Christian religious practice before the gospel arrived. That reading oversimplifies. The text is pointing toward a shift in how God is acting in the world, not making a sweeping judgment about the sincerity or value of other people's religious lives.⚠ Be careful about using this passage to suggest that all religions are ultimately saying the same thing and pointing to the same God. Paul does not say that. He finds a point of contact, and then he redirects. The altar to the unknown god is a starting point, not an ending point. Those two moves need to be kept together.⚠ The mixed response at the end — laughter, curiosity, belief — can be used to prepare congregations for the reality that not everyone will respond to the gospel. That is legitimate and worth naming. But be careful not to use the laughers as a way of dismissing skeptical people in the congregation or culture as simply closed-minded. Intellectual doubt is not the same thing as hardness of heart.John 1:16–18The Supplemental Text — Grace upon GraceSummaryThese three verses come from the prologue of John's Gospel — the opening hymn that sets up everything the Gospel will say about who Jesus is. From his fullness, the writer says, we have all received grace upon grace. The law came through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, has made God known. It is a compressed statement about what the incarnation actually accomplished: a full, overflowing gift, and a revelation of God that no one could have accessed any other way.Key Ideas for Preaching1. Placed alongside Paul's sermon at Athens, these verses clarify what Paul is ultimately pointing toward. He finds the unknown God in the Athenians' own altar and works outward from there. John 1 names what has now been made known: the God whom no one has seen has been revealed in the person of Jesus. The supplemental text gives Paul's proclamation its destination.2. The phrase ‘grace upon grace' — sometimes translated ‘grace in place of grace' — suggests not just a one-time gift but a continuing, layered generosity. There is always more. Preachers can use this image to speak to people who feel they have used up their portion of God's patience or kindness, or who are afraid that what they have received is all there will be.3. The contrast between Moses and Jesus in verse 17 is not a dismissal of the law — it is a statement about what has now been added. Grace and truth have arrived in a person, not just a set of instructions. Preachers can explore what it means that the fullest revelation of God is not a document or a system but a life.Significant Cautions⚠ The contrast between Moses and Jesus has a long and painful history of being used to set Christianity against Judaism — as if the law was a failed experiment that grace replaced. That reading distorts both testaments. The law was itself a gift of grace; what John describes is addition and fulfillment, not replacement and rejection.⚠ The claim that Jesus has made God known in a way no one else has can sound like a dismissal of all other religious experience or understanding of God. Preachers should present it as a statement about the particularity and depth of what God has done in Christ, not as a verdict that nothing true about God has ever been known anywhere else.Thematic ConnectionsBoth texts this week move in the same direction: from searching toward finding, from not knowing toward being shown. Paul stands in a city full of altars to gods that no one can quite name, and he points toward the one who has now been made known. John 1 names what that making-known actually looks like: the fullness of God, given in a person, producing grace upon grace. Paul's sermon at Athens is the proclamation; John's prologue is its theological ground. Together they describe a gospel that meets people in their reaching and brings them to something specific.The Acts passage is rich enough for a full sermon. A preacher could focus on Paul's method — starting with what is already there — or on what he says about the nature of God, or on the mixed response at the end. The John verses work best as a brief anchor, either opening the sermon with a statement of what Paul is ultimately pointing toward, or closing with it as a final word about what ‘making God known' actually means. Either placement gives the sermon a theological center that the Athens scene alone does not quite provide. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lectionarypro.substack.com/subscribe

Rabbi Pesach Wolicki joins Ami's House to unpack a viral incident involving an IDF soldier desecrating a statue of Jesus — and the much bigger questions it raises about truth, narrative, and how real moral failures are used to distort reality.At the same time, a deeper shift is unfolding: the rise of the “woke right,” a grievance-driven movement pulling young conservatives toward conspiracy, anti-Semitism, and a fractured understanding of religion, history, and alliance.It's a wide-ranging conversation on Jewish-Christian relations, historical memory, and why this moment feels less like political disagreement — and more like a broader confusion about what's real, what matters, and who actually stands with whom.

The Bible is made up of the Old Testament, which deals with God's Covenant with Israel, and then the New Testament which deals with Christ has established a New Covenant making a way for all people to find peace with God and the forgiveness of their sins once and for all. The writer to the Hebrews is writing the New Testament to a church of Jewish Christians who are experiencing great discouragement. He writes his sermon to them as a letter and in chapter 10 of its 13 chapters he warns them against taking a shameful path that leads ultimately to shame and eternal disappointment - and instead to seek the true path that is found in the Lord Jesus Christ and leads to great honour both in this life, but especially in the life to come. There is a very practical application for believers today to receive from this sermon and I hope that you will like my presentation of it and leave a positive review in your podcast app and that you will share this podcast with many people to encourage them as well. Please visit https://www.findingtruthmatters.org for more resources to help your walk with Christ grow.

The church at Jerusalem, where Christianity began, was composed entirely of Jewish Christians. Peter had preached the Gospel to the Gentile Centurion Cornelius, which opened the Gospel to Gentiles. The question, then, was whether Gentile Christians were required to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. Galatians addresses this issue. Paul begins his discussion by giving his qualifications. He says he was chosen by God and that his message did not originate with himself. The ordained, even bishops, are not lords of the church. They are dependent on Jesus for their message and hopefully love Jesus and the flock they are called to guide. Paul says that the view that Gentile Christians must practice circumcision and keep the Law of Moses is heretical. God calls and has a good plan for each believer, just like he did for Paul. A calling carries with it responsibilities. For Paul it included much study and prayer. He also traveled around the Roman Empire and suffered much persecution. It is important to cultivate good theology and avoid heresy. The more we know Scripture the more we will be able to recognize false teaching. It is important to be more concerned about God's approval than the approval of others. We should be trying to please an audience of One, who is our Master, Jesus Christ. The post Beginning Galatians appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

In today's episode, we discuss: Why we can't lose our salvation after trusting in Jesus God swore an oath to us on His own name, and God cannot lie Why non-Jewish Christians also share in the promise of Abraham Assurance of salvation is an "anchor" for our souls Here's other amazing content from P40! YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnh-aqfg8rw Ko-Fi - https://ko-fi.com/p40ministries Website - https://www.p40ministries.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/p40ministries Contact - jenn@p40ministries.com Rumble - https://rumble.com/c/c-6493869 Books - https://www.amazon.com/Jenn-Kokal/e/B095JCRNHY/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk Merch - https://www.p40ministries.com/shop YouVersion - https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/38267-out-of-the-mire-trusting-god-in-the-middle Check out LifeAudio for other faith-based podcasts on parenting, studying Scripture, and more:www.lifeaudio.com Become a member to gain access to The Bible Explained on Fridays: https://ko-fi.com/p40ministries Support babies and get quality coffee with Seven Weeks Coffee https://sevenweekscoffee.com/?ref=P40 Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The writer to the Hebrews was addressing the errors that led some in the largely Jewish-Christian house-church to be lured back into Judaism with the false claims that Jesus was not really the promised Messiah and Son of God. He does most clearly in the opening six verses where he emphatically states that Jesus was indeed sent by Father God, Yahweh, as the Son of God who came to make purification from sins. The writer to the Hebrews then goes on to say that GOD commands all the angels of Heaven to worship Jesus and that He is greater than Moses, the High Priest, the Sacrifices, the Tabernacle, and ceremonies. In addition to this, Christ's death on the cross has atoned for sins once and for all.

Now what I mean is that as long as the inheritor (heir) is a child and under age, he does not differ from a slave, although he is the master of all the estate; 2 But he is under guardians and administrators or trustees until the date fixed by his father. 3 So we [Jewish Christians] also, when we were minors, were kept like slaves under [the rules of the Hebrew ritual and subject to] the elementary teachings of a system of external observations and regulations. 4 But when the proper time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born subject to [the regulations of] the Law, 5 To purchase the freedom of (to ransom, to redeem, to [a]atone for) those who were subject to the Law, that we might be adopted and have sonship conferred upon us [and be recognized as God's sons]. 6 And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the [[b]Holy] Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba (Father)! Father! 7 Therefore, you are no longer a slave (bond servant) but a son; and if a son, then [it follows that you are] an heir [c]by the aid of God, through Christ. 8 But at that previous time, when you had not come to be acquainted with and understand and know the true God, you [Gentiles] were in bondage to gods who by their very nature could not be gods at all [gods that really did not exist]. 9 Now, however, that you have come to be acquainted with and understand and know [the true] God, or rather to be understood and known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly and worthless elementary things [[d]of all religions before Christ came], whose slaves you once more want to become? 10 You observe [particular] days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am alarmed [about you], lest I have labored among and over you to no purpose and in vain. 12 Brethren, I beg of you, become as I am [free from the bondage of Jewish ritualism and ordinances], for I also have become as you are [[e]a Gentile]. You did me no wrong [[f]in the days when I first came to you; do not do it now]. 13 On the contrary, you know that it was on account of a bodily ailment that [I remained and] preached the Gospel to you the first time. 14 And [yet] although my physical condition was [such] a trial to you, you did not regard it with contempt, or scorn and loathe and reject me; but you received me as an angel of God, [even] as Christ Jesus [Himself]! 15 What has become of that blessed enjoyment and satisfaction and self-congratulation that once was yours [in what I taught you and in your regard for me]? For I bear you witness that you would have torn out your own eyes and have given them to me [to replace mine], if that were possible. 16 Have I then become your enemy by telling the truth to you and dealing sincerely with you? 17 These men [the Judaizing teachers] are zealously trying to dazzle you [paying court to you, making much of you], but their purpose is not honorable or worthy or for any good. What they want to do is to isolate you [from us who oppose them], so that they may win you over to their side and get you to court their favor. 18 It is always a fine thing [of course] to be zealously sought after [as you are, provided that it is] for a good purpose and done [g]by reason of purity of heart and life, and not just when I am present with you! 19 My little children, for whom I am again suffering birth pangs until Christ is completely and permanently formed (molded) within you, 20 Would that I were with you now and could coax you vocally, for I am fearful and perplexed about you! 21 Tell me, you who are bent on being under the Law, will you listen to what the Law [really] says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondmaid and one by the free woman. 23 But whereas the child of the slave woman was born according to the flesh and had an ordinary birth, the son of the free woman was born in fulfillment of the promise. 24 Now all this is an allegory; these [two women] represent two covenants. One covenant originated from Mount Sinai [where the Law was given] and bears [children destined] for slavery; this is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is (stands for) Mount Sinai in Arabia and she corresponds to and belongs in the same category with the present Jerusalem, for she is in bondage together with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above ([h]the Messianic kingdom of Christ) is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written in the Scriptures, Rejoice, O barren woman, who has not given birth to children; break forth into a joyful shout, you who are not feeling birth pangs, for the desolate woman has many more children than she who has a husband. 28 But we, brethren, are children [[i]not by physical descent, as was Ishmael, but] like Isaac, born [j]in virtue of promise. 29 Yet [just] as at that time the child [of ordinary birth] born according to the flesh despised and persecuted him [who was born remarkably] according to [the promise and the working of] the [Holy] Spirit, so it is now also. 30 But what does the Scripture say? Cast out and send away the slave woman and her son, for never shall the son of the slave woman be heir and share the inheritance with the son of the free woman. 31 So, brethren, we [who are born again] are not children of a slave woman [[k]the natural], but of the free [[l]the supernatural].

If you enjoy this episode, we're sure you will enjoy more content like this on The Occult Rejects.  In fact, we have curated playlists on occult topics like grimoires, esoteric concepts and phenomena, occult history, analyzing true crime and cults with an occult lens, Para politics, and occultism in music. Whether you enjoy consuming your content visually or via audio, we've got you covered - and it will always be provided free of charge.  So, if you enjoy what we do and want to support our work of providing accessible, free content on various platforms, please consider making a donation to the links provided below.  Thank you and enjoy the episode!Links For The Occult Rejectshttps://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Cash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsSources used:Core biography / historical framingWerner Sundermann, “Mani”, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Best concise scholarly entry on Mani's life, mission, martyrdom, and later memory.Iain Gardner, The Founder of Manichaeism (Cambridge University Press, 2020). Best modern monograph for Mani as preacher, healer, founder, and public religious figure.Cosmology / beliefsWerner Sundermann, “Manicheism i. General Survey”, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Best single source for the World of Light, World of Darkness, the First Man, the rescue of trapped Light, ethics, ritual, and church structure.Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Manicheism” parent entry. Useful hub for the whole Iranica Manichaeism set.Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Manicheism ii. The Manichean Pantheon”. Best source for the sun, moon, divine beings, and cosmic devotional imagery.Art / imagery / thumbnail motifsKlaus V. Kessler, “Aržang”, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Best source for Mani's Book of Pictures and the historical basis for portraying him with scripture and sacred imagery.Scripture / canon / imperial framingEncyclopaedia Iranica, “Šābuhragān”. Key source for Mani's Middle Persian book dedicated to Shapur and for his scriptural project in an imperial setting.Encyclopaedia Iranica, “IRAN ix. Religions in Iran: Manicheism”. Strong for Mani's aim to spread the religion “in all tongues and in all lands,” plus canon, mission, and church organization.Mission / spreadWerner Sundermann, “Manicheism V. Missionary Activity and Technique”, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Best source for how deliberately organized and wide-ranging Manichaean mission was.Mani and the wider world of gnosisEncyclopaedia Iranica, “Gnosticism”. Helpful for positioning Mani in relation to gnosis and his Jewish-Christian baptist background without flattening Manichaeism into generic “Gnosticism.” On Saturday, April 25th, 2026, the 2026 Southeastern Masonic Symposium is happening in person at the Asheville Masonic Temple (80 Broadway St., Asheville, NC)I'll be there in person, so, come down and meet me and the rest of the crew.John Michael Greer — prolific occult and esoteric historian with 70+ books, including Circles of Power and the award-winning New Encyclopedia of the Occult; an initiate across Hermetic, Masonic, and Druidic lineages, and former Grand Archdruid (AODA).Collin Conkwright (American Esoteric) — creator behind American Esoteric, focused on ancient philosophy & comparative religion and serious work around universalism and the Western tradition; also publicly listed as a Master Mason and writer.Ike Baker — independent scholar & esoteric instructor, a practicing ceremonialist and initiatic Mason (Blue Lodge + York Rite), also connected with Martinism and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn; host of the ARCANVM podcast; author of A Formless Fire and Aetheric Magic.Thom Carter — a Brother out of Mt. Hermon Lodge No. 118 (Asheville, NC) and part of the presenting lineup for the symposium.https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-asheville-masonic-symposium-tickets-1980822909645?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

A Sermon for Easter Day Colossians 3:1-4 & St. John 20:1-10 by William Klock On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb in the early morning darkness… John is a brilliant story-teller and he's a brilliant story-teller because he knew the story so well.  Not just the story he tells of his time with Jesus, but the whole story, the big story of God and Israel—a story that leads straight to Jesus.  But, even more, John knew that the story of God and Israel was even bigger.  It was part of a story that involves the whole human race and all of creation.  And so there are echoes here in his Gospel—deliberate echoes—that recall that big story, of Israel and Israel's God, of his beloved creation that our fallen race has corrupted, and the story of his love, his mercy, and his grace that are at work to set it to rights. So Mary went to the tomb early Sunday morning, while it was still dark.  Jesus had been crucified on Friday.  He was dead.  End of story.  Jerusalem was ready to carry on with life as usual.  If they'd had water coolers in the First Century, the events of that Passover might have been the topic of discussion that first day back to work.  Some weird things had happened: the veil in the temple torn, the dead rising from their tombs and appearing in the city.  But it was over.  Or so everyone thought.  But while Jerusalem slept, Mary went to the tomb.  John writes specifically that it was the first day of the week.  He didn't need to tell us that.  Jesus' body wasn't placed in the tomb until late on Friday.  Saturday, well, that was the sabbath.  No one would go to the tomb on the sabbath.  So we know already that it was the first day of the week, Sunday.  But John tells us anyway and he tells us in such a way to remind us of the opening words of his Gospel: “In the beginning…”  You know those words.  “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” But when John wrote those words, he chose them very carefully, because in introducing Jesus, he wanted to remind us of another beginning.  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”.  He tells us that Mary came to the tomb while it was still dark.  Again, remember the first words of Genesis, the very beginning of the story: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.”  As John opened his Gospel with words suggesting that the story of Jesus is going to be a story of new creation, so even as he tells us about Jesus' resurrection, he again frames it in terms of new creation, filling his story with echoes of Genesis.  John writes that the word became flesh and dwelt among us.  On the sixth day, Pilate presented Jesus to the people and announced, “Behold the man!”  Hanging on the cross, Jesus used his last gasp of breath to declare, “It is finished.”  Again, an echo of Genesis.  Any normal person who counted himself a friend of Jesus would have considered that first Good Friday a very, very bad day, but that echo from Genesis reverberates through John's account.  When God had finished the work of creation he declared that it was all very good.  Jesus was laid to rest in the tomb for the sabbath—another echo of Genesis.  Death is not the end, but the beginning of new creation.  As Mary went to the tomb that first Easter morning, the first day of the week, the word of God was poised to burst forth in an act of new creation. At the time no one understood any of this.  Mary went to the tomb expecting that, like every other person in history who has died, Jesus would still be there, stone cold and lifeless.  She went to mourn and to meet her friends to finish the work of anointing Jesus' body.  And to her surprise, she found the tomb was open, the great stone door rolled away.  It was dark, so there was no point poking inside for a look.  But that didn't matter.  The open tomb meant only one thing: Jesus' body was gone.  John doesn't reveal Mary's thoughts, but resurrection would have been the last thing on her mind.  No, the open tomb meant someone had taken the body, maybe grave robbers, maybe Roman soldiers playing a joke on some silly Jews, adding insult to injury.  So she ran.  She ran to Peter's hiding place in the city and beat on the door.  Peter went running with John to the tomb.  John's the one who describes himself as the one whom Jesus loved—his best friend. John tells us that he outran Peter and got to the tomb first.  The sun was rising and as he peered into the tomb he saw the linen strips that had wrapped Jesus' body.  That was an odd thing.  Mary, John, and Peter could think of a few reasons why someone might have taken Jesus' body, but that anyone would first unwrap him was inexplicable.  Peter arrived and headed straight into the tomb.  If Jesus' tomb was like others that have been found, his body was likely placed on a shelf to one side of the small, low entrance.  If his head had been oriented towards the door, it would have been difficult to see without at least putting head and shoulders into the tomb as Peter did.  And what a curious thing Peter found.  Not only was the body gone with the wrappings left behind, but the wrappings appeared to be undisturbed, as if Jesus had simply passed right through them.  And the cloth that had been on his head, probably a piece of linen tied around the head to keep the jaw closed, it had been moved and neatly placed nearby. For comparison, it hadn't been that long before that Jesus had raised Lazarus from death.  The disciples had watched as Lazarus stumbled awkwardly out of his tomb.  He was still tightly wrapped in linen, probably not unlike a Hollywood mummy.  His friends scrambled to tear the linen cloths away, making a mess in the process.  Lazarus was all sticky and oily from the various liquids used to anoint his dead body.  In contrast, everything about Jesus' tomb spoke of calm and order, even the face covering was neatly set aside. John tells us that at this point he squeezed into the tomb beside Peter.  He saw and believed, he writes.  But believed what?  John goes on to tell us in the next verse that “as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.”  They did not yet understand, but he believed.  Some argue that John merely believed Mary's report of the missing body, but this seems like a pretty trite detail in amongst everything else John has told us here.  Peter and Mary believed Jesus' body was really gone, too.  What would seem to make the best sense of this passage is to understand that John is saying that this was the moment when he realised that Jesus had been raised from death.  He said nothing to Peter or to Mary.  He and Peter returned home.  Mary remained at the tomb weeping.  They, the others, didn't know what to make of the missing body, because they did not yet understand the implication of either Jesus' claims or of the scriptures.  But John was beginning to put two and two together—and he believed. You can't really blame John for not saying anything.  He, himself, must have been struggling to understand and to make sense of it all.  But there it was.  The tomb was empty.  I expect John ran through the handful of reasons that the body might be gone and realised that none of them really made that much sense.  The Romans had no reason to take it.  Neither did the Jewish authorities—especially after they'd released Jesus' body to his friends for burial.  Grave robbers?  What would they want with a poor man's grave?  And the empty, but undisturbed linens?  Who in their right mind would unwrap the body?  Suddenly all the things Jesus had said, things like his statement that he would tear down the temple and rebuild it in three days, it started to come together and to make sense.  John's brain started reaching back into the scriptures that he thought he knew so well, and new connections started to form.  He started hearing those old words afresh in light of Jesus—and especially the empty tomb.  And he began to understand. I think that, again, the contrast with Lazarus must have stood out.  John had seen a sort of resurrection before, but Lazarus was resurrected to a life still subject to death and decay and emerged from the tomb still wrapped in his graveclothes.  Something different had happened to Jesus.  The undisturbed graveclothes spoke of something greater.  Resurrection—something God's people longed for—had happened, but not as anyone expected.  Resurrection was supposed to happen to everyone all at once at the end of the age, but—what if, John started to think—Jesus was raised first—raised to inaugurate and to lead the way into the age to come.  And that meant that Jesus really was the Messiah and that somehow this meant that God really was going to set everything to rights.  New creation had begun that morning, but it would take some time—and a meeting with the risen Jesus—before John would be able to sort out for himself what it all meant. But if new creation was born that morning, it also had to have implications not only for Jesus, but for his people too.  John doesn't elaborate at this point.  The wheels in his head, after all, were just starting to turn.  But that's where St. Paul and our Epistle pick up, written decades later after he and so many other had had the time to think it through and work it out—rethinking everything they'd ever known in light of the risen Jesus.  Let me read those four verses from Colossians again.  Colossians 3:1-4. [Page 1169]   So if you were raised to life with the Messiah, seek the things that are above, where the Messiah is seated at God's right hand.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.  Don't you see: You have died, and your life has been hidden with the Messiah, in God!  When the Messiah is revealed (who is your life, remember), then you too will be revealed with him in glory.   What are the implications of the resurrection of Jesus for his people?  St. Paul wrote Colossians, at least in part, to address what seems to have been a common problem in the New Testament churches: legalism.  Jewish Christians struggled with the place of the law in the new covenant and many gentile believers were told that they needed first to embrace a form of Judaism before they could really be followers of Jesus.  In Colossians 2:20-23 Paul asks such people why they continue to live as if they were still enslaved by that old way of life.  Sure, the law has “an appearance of wisdom” in helping a person to attain an outward appearance of piety and holiness, but that's just it: it's an outward appearance, an outward conformity to holiness.  It's not that this is necessarily a bad thing in itself, but that true holiness is something that wells up out of the heart—or, at least, it should.  It's not hard to hear Paul's frustration in these words.  Jewish converts should know better.  This had been Israel's struggle since the beginning and Jesus, in his death and resurrection, had finally fixed it.  Jesus gives his people new life by giving us new hearts.  His perfect sacrifice purifies us so fully—also in a way the old covenant sacrifices could never do—that God himself, in the person of his Spirit, actually come to live in us.  And his Spirit then turns our hearts away from sin and self and rebellion and back to God.  But it's easy to talk about the new life Jesus and the Spirit give.  It's often a struggle to actually live it.  New life is the starting point when it comes to defeating sin, but all too often we forget and start thinking that new life is the result of first having tackled sin ourselves.  Paul knew all too well that's not how the gospel works. Brothers and Sisters, Jesus has led us in an exodus from sin and death.  In his resurrection he has given us new life.  We are no longer slaves.  This is the basic truth of the Christian life and if we don't get this right, we'll get everything else wrong.  As the Lord led the Israelites out of Egypt through the sea and freed them from their bondage to Pharaoh, Jesus sets us free from sin's bondage when we pass through the waters of baptism in faith.  It's a truth.  A fact.  A done deal.  We have been redeemed.  Even if we don't feel it, Jesus and the Spirit have transformed us: we were slaves to sin and death and now we are free; we were in bondage to the powers of this wicked old age and are now citizens of the kingdom of God.  This is what we mean when we speak of “regeneration”.  This is what Paul gets at in our Epistle.  He writes in 2:20 that we have died with the Messiah and now he writes in 3:1 that we have also been raised with the Messiah.  Again, we may not feel it, but if we have truly taken hold of Jesus in faith, he has carried us through death and out the other side into a new kind of life.  What he did for the Israelites when he delivered them from their Egyptian slavery through the waters of the Red Sea he has just as surely done for us in delivering us from sin and death through the waters of baptism.  It's a done deal.  It's a sure thing. And yet, there's more to come.  What we have today in the Spirit is the down payment of the life that awaits us the other side of resurrection.  What Paul is saying here is one of those “already-but-no-yet” truths.  Jesus has been raised to the sort of real life and true humanity that we lost through our sin.  We look forward in faith and hope to the day when we will be raised as he was, but in the meantime we have God's own Spirit living in us as an earnest, as a down payment, as a promise on that day.  We await the resurrection, but even today the Spirit makes that future resurrection a reality for us.  Maybe this is what makes life in Jesus a struggle.  If we could appear in locked rooms and never know sickness or decay again—as is true of Jesus—it would be easier to remember who and what we are.  Instead, we are called today to live by faith, not by sight.  One day the promise will be fulfilled.  One day the things of the present age will be gone for good and God's new age, his new creation will come in all its fulness, heaven will descend to earth and human beings will live with God.  But until then we have God's promise and we have his Spirit and we have the empty tomb to remind us that our hope is sure and certain. And so we begin with first principles: If we have died with the Messiah, we have been raised with the Messiah.  We need to get this truth into our heads and when we do, we'll remember that our life and everything about it that matters, is in the heavenlies where Jesus sits at the right hand of God.  Our true lives are hidden there with Jesus, Paul says.  It's a kind of mystery, this “already-but-not-yet” life we have in the Messiah.  But even though it's stored away in the heavenlies along with the rest of the age to come and God's new world, Paul wants us to understand that it's still very much who and what we are right now.  The new age dawned that first Easter morning when Jesus rose triumphant over death and if we are in him by faith, we really are part of that new age.  It may be hidden from the world around us, but it's not hidden from us, because Jesus and the Spirit have made it our reality.  We live today in faith-filled hope and in hope-filled anticipation of the day when Jesus returns to rejoin heaven and earth, God and humanity, and to bring the new age in all its fullness.  And as difficult as it may be some days to live this reality, Paul urges us to do so in faith-filled hope, knowing that Jesus, who is our life, will return to finish what he has started.  On that day we will know glory in all its fullness.  Our hope is not merely that Jesus will return, but also that when he returns he will reveal who we really are in him.  Resurrection will vindicate and reveal the faithfulness of God's people, just as Jesus was vindicated and glorified in his resurrection.  As we struggle against sin and as we labour for God's kingdom we may feel inadequate or insignificant, but the resurrection of Jesus ought to be a source of encouragement to live the truth of who we are in Jesus even as some aspects of it are still hidden with him. Now, back to our Gospel: St. John reminds us of those words “In the beginning…”  The story has begun.  Now we wait for the end.  But we await the ending in hopeful anticipation, because what our God has begun, what our God has so invested with his love and with the sacrifice of his own Son, our God will surely finish.  Brothers and Sisters, glory awaits.  Let us take our eyes off the things of this age, and set them instead on glories of Jesus' kingdom.  Let us live out God's new creation in the midst of the old.  Let us live not only to the glory of God, but to make his glory known through all the earth.   Let's pray: Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant us by your grace to set our minds on things above; that by your continual help our lives may be transformed; through the same, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

A Sermon for Maundy Thursday 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 by William Klock “This is my body.  It's for you.  Do this as a memorial of me,” said Jesus to his disciples.  And similarly with the cup he said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.”  The Christians in Corinth, hearing those words from our Epistle would remember the stories told by the disciples about that night.  Just like we do, they'd mentally fill in the whole setting from Jesus washing their feet, to the Passover meal, to Jesus taking the Passover bread and one of the Passover cups and linking it with himself and what he was about to do.  They'd be thinking about this new covenant.  A mystery to the disciples, but the Corinthians knew the story of the cross, too.  They knew that the body of Jesus, broken, and his blood poured out at the cross established something new.  The Jewish Christians there new especially that when they shared in this meal that Paul described, it was like the Passover meal they'd known all their lives, but now in Jesus it meant something new and something better.  Not just an exodus from Egypt, but an exodus from sin and death.  Not just being led by God into a land of milk and honey, but being led by Jesus and the Spirit into God's new creation.  As Passover reminded the Jews year after year of the Lord's deliverance and how he'd established a covenant with them, how he'd made them his people, and how he'd given them a hope for the future, so the Lord's Supper, every Sunday, reminded them how Jesus had delivered them from sin and death, how he'd marked them as his people in their baptism—not just in water this time, but by pouring his Spirit into them.  And it pointed forward to God's promises of a promised land—not Canaan conquered by the sword, but the whole world captivated by the good news of Jesus, crucified and risen.  This community shaped by the Lord's Supper, by this new Passover, was God's future right here in the present, God's new creation in the midst of the old, God's light in the middle of the darkness.  Not perfectly, of course, but still God's future here and now. But we forget these things.  We forget who we are.  We forget God's promises.  That's why God gave Israel the Passover.  That's why Jesus gave us his supper.  So we don't forget what he's done.  So we don't forget who we are.  So we don't forget the task we've been given to do.  And so we don't forget our future hope.  And yet, even still, we forget.  And that's why Paul wrote this to the Corinthians.  If we back up to the previous paragraph, to 11:17, [You can find this on page 1139 in the pew Bibles.] Paul writes to them, What I have to say now isn't a matter for praise.  That means he's about to rebuke them for something they've been doing wrong.  He goes on: When you meet together, you make things worse, not better.  Stop and let that sink in.  When you meet together, you make things worse, not better.  I tend to think that when Christians meet together to worship, even if we don't get everything right, it's still a good thing.  We're better off for it.  On the whole God is pleased.  And yet Paul's saying that when the Corinthian church gets together, what they're doing is so wrong, that on the whole, it's a bad thing, not a good thing. So what are they doing?  He writes, To begin with, I hear that when you come together in the assembly there are divisions among you…  So when you gather together into one meeting, it isn't the Lord's Supper that you eat.  Everyone brings their own food to eat, and one person goes hungry while another gets drunk.  Haven't you got houses to eat and drink in?  Or do you despise God's assembly, and shame those who have nothing?  What shall I say to you?  Shall I praise you?  No, in this matter I shall not!   That doesn't sound very much like the Lord's Supper, does it?   Remember that in the very early church, the Lord's Supper was probably connected to a fellowship meal.  It hadn't yet become the symbolic meal that it would, where we eat a little piece of bread and take a sip from the chalice.  And in Corinth this had ceased to be a truly shared meal.  It sounds like the rich were separating themselves from the poor.  While they ate like gluttons and got drunk, the poor members of the church went hungry.  The rich people probably thought they were doing well.  After all, it was very gracious of them to let the poor—many of them slaves—have anything to do with their meals.  If they were still pagans, knowing nothing of the grace of God, the poor wouldn't be there at all.  It's another case of the Corinthians getting everything horribly wrong, but still patting themselves on the back for how gracious they were. And Paul rebukes them.  Back in Chapter 5 he wrote, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.  Therefore let us keep the feast!”  But if this is how they're doing it, it may be a feast, but it's not the feast.  It's not the Lord's Supper.  Brothers and Sisters, if we don't come to the Lord's Table as one, we don't come at all.  Again, Paul warns the Corinthians: If this is how you keep the feast, it's better if you don't—because this isn't the feast.  In fact, if we jump down to verse 27, Paul writes: It follows from this that anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.  Everyone should test themselves.  That's how you should eat the bread and drink the cup.  Now, we should stop there and make sure we hear him.  “Test yourself before you eat and drink.  Test yourself how?  He goes on:  You see, if you eat and drink without recognising the body, you eat and drink judgement on yourself.   The flow of Paul's logic here is so simple there really shouldn't be any question about it.  What's the context of this rebuke?  The Corinthians weren't united when they came to the Lord's Supper.  They were letting worldly divisions and distinctions divide them up.  To put it in terms of our Epistle this past Sunday from Philippians 2: They didn't share the mind of Jesus amongst themselves.  They weren't being humble as Jesus is humble.  And so Paul reminds them that the Supper was instituted by Jesus to remind us of him and to remind us who and what we are in him.  And now he warns them that if you eat and drink of the Supper without recognising the body, you eat and drink judgement on yourselves.  What's the body?  That's one of Paul's ways of talking about the church—especially when he wants to stress our unity and interdependence. So what he's saying is that central to coming to the Lord's Table is doing so as one people.  The cross has overcome all our differences.  There is no longer rich nor poor, slave nor free, Jew nor gentile, man nor woman.  It doesn't mean those markers are gone.  It's that in the pre-gospel world, those differences divided us all up, but the cross now makes us one.  That's part of how the church puts God's future, his new creation on display here and now.  It's one of the ways we show the world the beauty of the gospel.  Without this unity, the Lord's Supper is just another meal—like any other worldly meal, where you invite the people who are like you or the people you want to score points with.  Ironically, it's become common for Christians to flip Paul's warning on its head and to fence off the Table from other Christians who have different views of how the Lord's Supper works.  To “recognise the body” is taken to have something to do with Jesus being present in some way with the bread and wine, and we'll only let people come to the Table if they agree with us on how exactly that works.  Which is just the sort of thing Paul is warning against.  Jesus instituted the Supper to be a powerful symbol of our unity in him, but we keep it to ourselves and keep others away who disagree over what exactly that means. I have to think that this is one reason the church in the West is in such decline.  Our churches are too often divided between rich and poor, or divided along political lines or ethnic lines, and while there's certainly a place for division over serious theological error, most of our division are over matters that should never be a source of division.  Paul certainly thought that lack of unity was a problem.  He goes on in verse 30: That's why several of you are weak and sick and some have died.  But if we learned how to judge ourselves, we would not incur judgement.  But when we are judged by the Lord, we are punished so that we won't be condemned along with the world.  So, my brothers [and sisters], when you come together to eat, treat one another as honoured guests by waiting for each other.  If anyone is hungry, they should eat at home, so that you don't come together and find yourselves facing judgement.   The unity of the church, centred in Jesus, purified by his blood and given life by the Spirit is what should be at the centre of the Lord's Supper.  But we tend to get hung up on other things.  We've often got hung up on the spiritual mechanics of it—even going so far as to exclude brothers and sisters who have different ideas about those spiritual mechanics.  Or, as we reflect on what Jesus has done at the cross to forgive our sins, we can be become so personally introspective that we all but forget that we come to the table, not just as individuals, but as a people—the body of Jesus.  Brothers and Sisters, the Lord's Supper, like the Passover of old, is about eating and drinking in memory of what Jesus has done for us and what Jesus has made us.  In light of that, it is vital that we come to the Table as one.  Not rich or poor, not slave or free, not Jew or gentile, not man or woman, not doing our personal devotions in a group setting, but as the unified people redeemed by Jesus, a people filled with God's Spirit, a people who have been made a new temple where Jesus, the Spirit, and the good news of his death and resurrection—where his salvation—is mediated to a dying world.  A people who have learned here to have the mind of Jesus—to be humble and gracious and merciful and loving with each other so that we can then take that humility and grace and mercy and love to the world.   Let's pray: Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.    Amen.

In this introductory lesson on the book of Hebrews, Bible teacher Dave Bigler provides a foundational overview of the text, emphasizing its central theme: the absolute superiority of Jesus Christ (Solos Christus). The study outlines how Hebrews serves as a "Rosetta Stone" for the Old Testament, bridging the Old and New Testaments. Dave highlights that the book of Hebrews is more of an exhortation or sermon than a traditional letter, designed to encourage Jewish Christians facing intense persecution to remain steadfast in their faith rather than reverting to old religious systems.The study also addresses the enduring mysteries of the book, such as its unknown authorship and specific audience. While historical traditions suggest figures like Paul, Barnabas, or Apollos, the Dave notes that the author purposefully remains anonymous to keep the focus entirely on Christ. The historical context, likely written before the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, provides a backdrop of social and political turmoil in Rome. Ultimately, the teaching concludes with a call to inductive Bible study, urging believers to observe and interpret the text to find personal application in a world filled with competing priorities.View full teaching notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X97hBArommgV3-E6Hxmn0whB55a_0WBMsRUuAEBIKwQ/edit?usp=sharingOutline: 00:00 - Introduction to Iron Sheep Ministries (ISM) and Dave BiglerISM's goal is to help Christian's grow in their knowledge and relationship with the Lord. Personal Background: Dave Bigler's transition from 20 years as a professional photographer to ministry at ISM and now teaching at a Classical Christian school. (The Bow Tie: A symbol of professionalism and taking the role of a Bible teacher seriously, inspired by Colossians 3.23).10:51 — Point 1: The Theme of HebrewsTheme: Solus Christus (Christ alone).The book emphasizes the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3).12:31 — Point 2: What is Hebrews?It functions more like a sermon or exhortation than a traditional Gospel or epistle. The "Book of Better Things": Uses the Greek word kreitton (superior/excellent) 18 times to show Christ's superiority:Ch. 1-2: Superior to prophets and angels.Ch. 3-4: Superior to Moses and Joshua.Ch. 4-6: Superior to Aaron the high priest.Ch. 7-10: Brings a superior priesthood, covenant, and sacrifice.The Rosetta Stone of the Bible: Unlocks the Old Testament with 35 direct quotations and 34 allusions; it provides essential details on the sacrificial system and Melchizedek.22:54 — Point 3: Who is the Audience?Jewish believers (Messianic Jews) intimately familiar with the Torah and Levitical priesthood.24:23 — Point 4: Where was the Audience?Likely a home church or group of churches in or around Rome.26:27 — Point 5: Who is the Author?Anonymous. Historically debated since the 2nd century.Potential Candidates: Paul, Luke, Barnabas, Apollos, Priscilla (among others)The "Hidden Servant": The anonymity may be intentional to keep the focus entirely on Jesus.38:41 — Point 6: When was it Written?Date: Likely 64–69 AD, as it refers to Temple sacrifices as ongoing, meaning it was written before the Temple's destruction in 70 AD.40:29 — Point 7: Where do we put Hebrews?Serves as a "bridge" between the Pauline epistles (grace/church) and the General epistles (ethics/trials).44:23 — Point 8: What is the Purpose?Encouragement: To help Christians endure persecution (like that under Nero in 64 AD) and resist the temptation to return to "safer" Jewish roots by proving Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the Law.50:02 — Point 9: ApplicationUsing the Inductive Bible Study Method (Observation, Interpretation, Application) to study the text verse by verse.Support Iron Sheep Ministries: https://Ironsheep.org/donateListen to the podcast: https://anchor.fm/ironsheepContact Dave & the ISM team: info@ironsheep.orgJoin the email list: http://eepurl.com/g-2zAD

This week on The Hamilton Review Podcast, we're pleased to welcome Harvard Professor of Jewish Studies, Jon D. Levenson. A wonderful conversation filled with wisdom and celebration of Passover, Professor Levenson discusses his latest book, Israel's Day of Light and Joy: The Origin, Development, and Enduring Meaning of the Jewish Sabbath. You won't want to miss a very special episode of The Hamilton Review. Jon D. Levenson, Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies, began teaching at Harvard in 1988, having previously taught at the University of Chicago and at Wellesley College. His work concentrates on the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, including its reinterpretations in the "rewritten Bible" of Second Temple Judaism and rabbinic midrash. In addition, one of his courses deals with the use of medieval Jewish commentaries for purposes of modern biblical exegesis, and another focuses on central works of Jewish theology in the twentieth century. Levenson has a strong interest in the philosophical and theological issues involved in biblical studies, especially the relationship of premodern modes of interpretation to modern historical criticism. Much of his work centers on the relationship of Judaism and Christianity, both in antiquity and in modernity, and he has long been active in Jewish-Christian dialogue. His book Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel: The Ultimate Victory of the God of Life (Yale University Press, 2006) won a National Jewish Book Award and the Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Award in the category of Best Book Relating to the Hebrew Bible published in 2005 or 2006. Choice, a publication of the American Library Association, listed Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Princeton University Press, 2012) as one of the Outstanding Academic Titles for 2013. His book, The Love of God: Divine Gift, Human Gratitude, and Mutual Faithfulness in Judaism, was published in 2016 by Princeton University Press. His latest book is Israel's Day of Light and Joy: The Origin, Development, and Enduring Meaning of the Jewish Sabbath (Eisenbrauns, 2024). In all his work, Levenson's emphasis falls on the close reading of texts for purposes of literary and theological understanding.   How to contact Professor Jon D. Levenson: Harvard Professor Jon D. Levenson   Israel's Day of Light and Joy by Jon D. Levenson   How to contact Dr. Bob: Dr. Bob on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChztMVtPCLJkiXvv7H5tpDQ Dr. Bob on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drroberthamilton/ Dr. Bob on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bob.hamilton.1656 Dr. Bob's Seven Secrets Of The Newborn website: https://7secretsofthenewborn.com/ Dr. Bob's website: https://roberthamiltonmd.com/ Pacific Ocean Pediatrics: http://www.pacificoceanpediatrics.com/

Paul and Barnabas's missionary journey had been a success, in spite of the hostilities they faced from non-believing Jews. But now it was Jewish Christians who were causing a problem, teaching that Gentiles had to become Jews in order to be fully incorporated into the true people of God. This issue had to be resolved in order for the mission of God to continue.

J.J. and Dr. Martin Lockshin discuss the (not so) plain and simple ideas of Rabbi Samuel ben Meir of Troyes, a leading Tosafist and grandson to Rashi. If you or your business are interested in sponsoring an episode or mini-series, please reach out at  podcasts@torahinmotion.org Follow us on Bluesky @jewishideaspod.bsky.social for updates and insights!Please rate and review the the show in the podcast app of your choice.We welcome all complaints and compliments at podcasts@torahinmotion.org  For more information visit torahinmotion.org/podcastsRabbi Dr. Martin Lockshin is University Professor Emeritus at York University and lives in Jerusalem. He received his Ph.D. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University and his rabbinic ordination in Israel while studying in Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav Kook. Professor Marty Lockshin 's primary area of scholarly expertise and writing is the history of Jewish biblical interpretation, particularly the interplay between tradition and innovation. Most of his research has been centred on those medieval biblical commentators who valued tradition intellectually, who lived traditional lives and who still innovated unabashedly in their understanding of the Bible. The largest part of his scholarship has been about Samuel ben Meir (12th century Northern France), a traditionalist Bible commentator with an uncanny knack for offering new understandings of biblical texts—his conclusions are often strikingly similar to the “discoveries” of biblical critics seven or eight hundred years later. Marty has published a 4-volume English annotated translation of Rashbam's major work and also a 2-volume annotated Hebrew edition. His interest in biblical interpretation has led him to study Jewish-Christian relations, since Jews and Christians over the ages had both competitive and (at times) cooperative approaches to the study of their sacred Scripture.

A Sermon for Passion Sunday Hebrews 9:11-15 by William Klock I'd like to put our study of Ephesians on pause.  We reached a good stopping point last Sunday.  Now Easter is fast approaching and we need to switch gears for a few weeks.  It's often the case that the lessons for the Sunday before a major feast day are meant to prepare us and to explain what's about to come and that's just what Passion Sunday does—not just for Easter, but for Palm Sunday and all of Holy Week.  That said, today's Epistle from the book of Hebrews dovetails remarkably well with what we've been reading in the letter to the Ephesians.  In Ephesians, Paul's been writing to a cluster of little churches in what today we call western Turkey.  The people in those churches were mostly gentiles—non-Jews.  They had been pagans who knew the world is not as it should be.  They longed for a way out.  Some of them, no doubt, had taken note of the Jewish diaspora communities in their cities and those communities had got their attention.  The Jews had a sense of holiness.  They kept themselves apart from the moral filth, from the sexual immorality, from the dog-eat-dog world of the Greeks and Romans.  The Jews had a sense of compassion, of love, of mercy that was foreign to the pagans.  Maybe most of all, they saw in these Jewish neighbours a sense of hope—that history wasn't just going forever round and round, never changing, that their God actually cared for the world and for his people, and that one day he would do something to set the world to rights.  The God of Israel was a God who cared, who was faithful, who would one day wipe away the tears and deal with evil.  There was nothing and no one like that in the pagan world.  But that wasn't their story.  The God of Israel wasn't their god.  They had no right to it.  The best they could do was hang out on the fringe and hope maybe something of it would rub off.  If nothing else, it gave them at least a little hope to know that it was possible to be different. And then Paul came along and he proclaimed the good news about Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, who was crucified, buried, and who rose to life.  Paul told them how the blood of Jesus—if they would only believe and submit themselves to him as creation's true Lord—how the blood of Jesus would purify them from the stain of sin and of idolatry and of death.  And they did believe.  And in response, the God of Israel adopted them as sons and daughters.  He filled them with his Spirit—drawing near to them, just as he'd promised to draw near to his people Israel.  And so Paul wrote his letter to them to say that in all of this, they've become the new temple of God—the place where he has drawn near, the place where he dwells, the place where a renewed humanity—Jews and gentiles, rich and poor, slave and free, men and women—are all being brought together, the vanguard of God's new creation in the midst of the old—a people to challenge the principalities and powers, the gods and kings of the old world with the Lordship of Jesus and the inauguration of new creation. And Paul's chief word for those gentile believers in Ephesus—so far as we've got in the letter to this point—is that this story that belonged to Israel is now fully their story.  Jesus and the Spirit have brought them into it.  The promises of the God of Israel are now their promises.  The hope of Israel is now their hope. And then the book of Hebrews.  It takes the same themes and flips them around.  We don't know who wrote it.  Possibly Paul.  Probably written in the mid-60s.  To Jewish believers, probably at Rome.  These were people who had been part of that story all along.  They were the natural sons and daughters.  They were the original branches of the olive tree—not gentile branches grafted in.  And, just like Paul, they were confronted with the risen Jesus and recognised that he was the long-promised and long-awaited Messiah who changed everything, who brought the old promises to fulfilment.  And they believed.  And they, too, became part of this community, this new Israel, purified by Jesus and filled with the Spirit.  They too became part of this new temple in which God had come to dwell.  But then persecution came, too.  And with the threat of persecution hanging over them, it was all too tempting to go back to their old ways.  The Jews had a long-standing arrangement with Caesar.  They would pray for him and he would let them worship and live in peace.  And so these Jewish Christians began to withdraw: back to their synagogues, back into their purity codes, away from their gentile brothers and sisters.  Hebrews was written to them—to remind them of the same things Paul wanted the Ephesians to be sure of.  That in Jesus and in the church, their hopes are being fulfilled, that God's new creation is being born, and that there's no going back. In fact, this is just what Hebrews does: it reminds these Jewish believers—in case they've forgotten—that their old way of life fell short.  The tabernacle was wonderful, it was the sign of God's presence with his people, but they couldn't actually enter it.  The priests and the sacrifices they offered were great.  They purified the people from their impurity and from the stain of sin and death so that God could dwell in their midst, but despite being offered continually, they were never able to perfect the conscience of the people who came to worship.  No, all these things were good, but the writer of Hebrews repeatedly makes the point: The tabernacle, the priests, the sacrifices the torah itself, they were part of the promise.  Jesus and the Spirit are the fulfilment.  Again, you can't go back.  This is where today's Epistle picks up: Hebrews 9:11-15.   But when the Messiah arrived as high priest of the good things that were coming, he entered the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands (that is, not of this present creation), and not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood.  He entered, once and for all, into the holy place, accomplishing a redemption that lasts forever.  For if the blood of bulls and goats and the sprinkled ashes of a heifer, make people holy (in the sense of purifying their bodies) when they had been unclean, how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who offered himself to God through the eternal Spirit as a spotless sacrifice, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God!   When the Israelites built the tabernacle in the wilderness, on their way from Egypt to the promised land, it was a house for God to dwell in.  But it always pointed to more than that.  It's very structure, layout, and design were meant to evoke the garden of Eden.  It reminded the Israelites what humanity had lost in our rebellion against God.  And it pointed forward to a future in which God would, someday and somehow, set the world to rights and once again dwell with his people.  Human beings were created to live in and to enjoy God's presence, to receive life from him, and in turn to steward that life back to his creation.  But when we tried to become gods ourselves, when we sinned, we drove a wedge between ourselves and God, between earth and heaven.  We began to die and we brought death and chaos into the very world into which God had meant us to carry his life and his divine order.  But in the tabernacle, Israel saw the beginnings of restoration: God once again, dwelling in the midst of a people purified—albeit imperfectly and temporarily—from the stain of sin and death. The tabernacle was a promise.  Its imperfection made this clear.  God was with his people, but not fully.  They camped around his presence and they could draw near, but there was a great veil that separated them from God.  Even the sacrifices that purified them couldn't make them pure enough to pass that veil.  God had made them a holy people, but even a holy people could never enter the most holy place where God's presence dwelled.  Sin and death still separated the people from God.  But that remaining separation—so close, but yet so far—drove home the promissory nature of the tabernacle and the priests and the sacrifices.  If God was going to all this trouble to draw his people this close now, then one day he would surely bring them fully into his presence.  One day he would fully heal the breach. But as the centuries passed, Israel took the tabernacle (and later the temple) for granted.  The people forgot the promise.  Like the dog in the meme, sitting in the midst of a burning room, but contentedly sipping his coffee and saying, “This is fine,” Israel eventually just came to see the tabernacle and the priesthood and the sacrifices as the solution, the fix for sin.  Yes, God still had to deal with those wicked gentiles and one day he would smite them and put Israel on top of the political heap.  One day God's presence would return to the temple.  But the priesthood and the sacrifices would go on and on.  That's what it would mean for the world to be set to rights.  They stopped seeing the imagery in the temple that pointed forward to a day when Eden would be restored.  They forgot about the vocation God had given to Adam and Eve in the beginning. I think we too often do the same sort of thing as Christians.  We come to the Lord's Table and somehow it becomes hum-drum for us.  We no longer think of the end goal, of the great feast that awaits on the day when this work of new creation is finally done and the knowledge of the glory of God covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.  We just try to be good and we wait for Jesus to take us to heaven so we can escape the evils of the world.  We lose sight of the big picture, of God's grand plan, of us and creation actually, somehow and someday, fully restored and set to rights. This is what the writer of Hebrews is getting at when he talks about Jesus as our great high priest of the good things to come.  The tabernacle was a good thing, but it pointed to better things, just as the Lord's Supper is a good thing, but points to something even better.  And Hebrews says, as our high priest, Jesus entered not in to the most holy place of the tabernacle.  Instead, at the cross Jesus entered into the immediate presence of his Father, laying down his life as the perfect sacrifice.  As he did that, the heavy veil in the temple, the one that closed off the most holy place, it was worn in two.  In Jesus, the way into God's presence has been fully opened. So, the first point here: the tabernacle pointed forward to a better day when God would be fully present with his people.  Then the second point: As the tabernacle points to the full presence of God with his people, so the priesthood of the old covenant points forward to the prefect priesthood and sacrifice of Jesus. The tabernacle and, later, the temple saw perpetual sacrifices.  Day in and day out, all day long, animals were brought, killed, butchered, and burned.  The cloud of smoke rising from the altar never stopped.  Hebrews speaks here of the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer.  Those were sacrifices for atonement, to purify the tabernacle and the people of their uncleanness and their sin.  The ashes of a heifer were used to purify those who had come in contact with death.  And those sacrifices were offered over and over and over.  People sin.  Impurity—not sinful itself—but ritual impurity was inevitable.  Even the great purifying sacrifice offered on the day of Atonement—when the blood of a bull and a goat was sprinkled in the most holy place to purify the nation and the tabernacle, to keep it and them a fit place for God to dwell—even that had to be done every year—year in and year out.  And, in that, they pointed to something greater.  Over the time, the people forgot.  But all along, the necessity for repeated sacrifices pointed to a day when God would provide an atonement that would last forever. When Jesus made that once-for-all and perfect sacrifice with his own blood, it was hard for people to wrap their heads around.  Again, they'd forgotten that the whole system had been pointing to this.  But, too, no one ever expected the coming Messiah, the great high priest, to offer himself as that perfect sacrifice.  But the writer of Hebrews stresses: it was there, all along in Israel's scriptures. All those animal sacrifices reminded the people of the cost of sin and the impurity of death.  Because of their sin, Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, cut off from the tree of life.  Brothers and Sisters, sin separates us from the presence of God. Sin separates us from the source of life.  Sinners die.  The only way back into the presence of our holy God is by the shedding of blood.  The sacrificial system taught Israel that redemption from sin requires the death of another in our place.  The animals sacrificed in the temple were costly sacrifices, but they were also imperfect sacrifices.  They were dumb and unwilling.  They served only until the next sin was committed.  And they brought the people only into the tabernacle or the temple.  For the people to be truly cleansed from sin, for the people to enter into the most holy place, into the presence of God, would require an even costlier sacrifice. Those sacrifices pointed to Jesus.  In Jesus, God himself took up our flesh—he became one of his own people.  He did that so that he could represent them.  He became like a second Adam.  In that role, Jesus willingly gave his life for them—and for us.  He was the costly sacrifice—the spotless lamb, the best of the flock.  As our representative, he took on himself the death that we deserve.  This is why we can say, as we do in the Lord's Supper, that by his one oblation of himself once offered, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world has been made.  This is why we can ask that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body and our souls washed through his most precious blood.  The blood of animal sacrifices gave a superficial cleanness to people who had been defiled by their sin, the ashes of the heifer purified them temporarily from the stain of death, but Jesus' blood doesn't just make us superficially clean.  It purifies us from the inside out.  And so we can also pray that as his body and blood make us clean, we may evermore dwell in him and he in us.  By his blood we can finally enter the Holy of Holies, we can finally be restored to the presence of our holy Creator. And that gets at the third point made here—the third way in which Jesus' sacrifice is better than the old sacrifices and the new covenant is better than the old.  The sacrifices of the old covenant were singposts pointing to the real sacrifice.  The most holy place in the temple was a signpost to the real holy of holies, not just the heavenly presence of the Father, but it looked forward to the day when creation will finally be set to rights, when heaven and earth will finally be joined together and humanity can once again live in God's presence, just as Adam and Eve did before they sinned.  The cleanness and atonement offered by those old sacrifices was a shadow of the atonement and the cleanness offered by Jesus.  Jesus didn't just enter the central room of the temple in Jerusalem to offer the blood of an animal on our behalf.  Jesus, who is both God himself and our perfect human representative, entered into the actual presence of his Father with his own blood shed at the cross.  In doing that he offers a sacrifice that washes us clean from sin to the very core of our being.  And his purifying sacrifice prepares us for the gift of God's Spirit—the life of the age to come, a down payment on the resurrection of the dead, given to us today. Somehow the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, Hebrews says, purifies our conscience from dead works so that we can serve the living God.  Brothers and Sisters, through Jesus and the Spirit we are transformed.  No longer just going through the motions of holiness, but purified from the inside out to be a people who desire holiness.  Jesus and the Spirit have given us a taste of the age to come, of new creation, of the world set to rights, of our tears wiped away, of our sins forgiven.  Jesus and the Spirit have made us the new temple, the place where God dwells, the place where the hope of the world is known, stewards of his grace and of the good news that brings this same grace and hope to the world.  Through Jesus and the Spirit, not only has God come to dwell with us, but we've been restored to our vocation—to be the priests of God's temple and to steward his goodness, his faithfulness for the sake of the world—to make his glory known through all the earth. And then verse 15: For this reason, Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant.  The purpose was that those who are called should receive the promised inheritance of the age to come, since a death has occurred which provides redemption from transgressions committed under the first covenant.   Jesus is the mediator.  There's no other way.  As persecution came, these Jewish believers were tempted to go back the old ways, the ways before Jesus.  Hebrews was written to remind them: the old ways, the tabernacle, the priesthood, the sacrifices, their days have passed.  The promise they pointed to has come.  In Jesus, God has established a new covenant and he is the sole mediator. Every time I preach on this passage, I'm remined of the trip we made to Montréal in the winter.  On the bridge over the confluence of the St. Lawrence and Ottaway Rivers we saw a jeep speeding the opposite direction below us, on the frozen river.  Commonplace in Quebec and Ontario, but not for this California boy.  You can do that in the middle of a cold Québec winter, but when Spring comes the bridge is the only way across.  Try driving on the thawing ice and you'll die. Brothers and Sisters, in Jesus, Spring has come to the world.  In Jesus a bridge has been provided across the water.  The law was perfectly good in its time, just as the ice was safe to drive on if you wanted to cross the river in January, but the time has passed for that.  If you want to cross the river now the bridge Jesus provides is the only way.  Hebrews was written to people who feared persecution for following Jesus.  They were used to driving on the ice and despite the fact that it was now melting and thin, they were still tempted to keep driving on it.  Hebrews reminded them and it reminds us: The time for those old ways has passed.  Jesus offers something better and his way is now the only way. Brothers and Sisters, do our lives demonstrate faith in Jesus as our sole mediator?  While you and I may not be tempted to go back to the law or the temple or the old covenant sacrifices, we have our own pasts to which we often hold more tightly than we may realise.  We profess faith in Jesus, but we still haven't repented of all of our old loyalties, all of our old ways of doing things, all of our old sources of security.  We profess Jesus, but we still find satisfaction in sin and in self.  We say we trust Jesus, but we still look for security in work and in money.  We say we trust Jesus, but we often evaluate ourselves, not based on what he has done for us, but on what we think we've done for him.  Friends, it's like giving people directions to the bridge, while we ourselves are sitting in our cars with the engine running, nosing our wheels into the water and thinking we'll somehow get across the river.  Lent is a time for us to look around, to take stock, and to evaluate our situation.  Easter is only two weeks away.  It's a reminder that in Jesus Spring has arrived.  The river isn't frozen anymore.  We need to let go of the old ways of life and follow Jesus across the bridge.  Will there be challenges and sacrifices along the way?  Of course.  But Jesus and the Spirit have shown us the signs of God's spring.  The flowers are breaking through the snow, the buds are forming on the tree.  God has provided all the signs of his goodness and faithfulness and the inevitability of spring.  Let us commit ourselves to the one who has given his life to restore life to us and let us give our lives that the whole world might know his glorious spring. Let us pray: Almighty God, look with mercy on your people; that by your great goodness we may be always governed and preserved both in body and soul, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Guest: Frank Gaffney, president of the Institute for the American Future, joins the program to discuss the potential end goals in Iran and why he believes sharia law poses a significant threat that Americans should take seriously. Guest: Ellie Cohanim, former Deputy Special Envoy at the State Department, discusses the situation in Iran, the strategic goals behind the recent strikes, and why she believes the actions taken by the United States were the right move. // LongForm: GUEST: Erick Stakelbeck, host of "Stakelbeck Tonight" on TBN and "The Watchman Newscast" on YouTube, joins Josh to discuss how to define victory in Operation Epic Fury, the great gaslighting operation that intends to unravel the indispensable Jewish-Christian biblical alliance, and why Christian Zionism and the concept of "Judeo-Christianity" flow naturally from Scripture and common sense alike.  // Quick Hit: Part 2 with Erick Stakelbeck.

In this scripture hike, Mark and Cindy explore the second half of Galatians 2, where Paul recounts a powerful moment when he confronted Peter in Antioch for withdrawing from eating with Gentile believers out of fear of criticism from Jewish Christians. This public rebuke showed that even respected leaders can stumble when fear and social pressure replace the truth of the gospel. Paul reminded Peter that the message of Christ breaks down the old barriers—there is neither Jew nor Gentile, and no one is justified by the works of the Mosaic law but through faith in Jesus. Returning to the old system would only rebuild what Christ had already fulfilled. Instead, believers are called to a new life: dying to the old law and living for God. As Paul beautifully summarizes, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” The Christian life is now lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us, and trusting in that grace ensures that Christ's sacrifice was not in vain.

Send a textSteven "Wade" Cunningham was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications. During his college years, Wade traveled to Jerusalem and throughout Israel—a journey that sparked his lifelong passion for Scripture and the profound connection between Judaism and Christianity.After completing his Bachelor's Degree, Wade earned a Bible Certification from Western Bible College and attended Denver Seminary. A lifelong learner with a deep commitment to understanding Jewish-Christian relations, he brings scriptural, academic, and historical insight to his writing. Wade is also an ordained Independent Christian clergy through Christian Global Outreach Ministries.  Wade and his wife, Linda, were married in 1992 and have been blessed with three children and one grandchild. Wade is an avid hiker, and following a long career in home health and hospice care, he now dedicates his time to research, writing, and advancing a message of faith and reconciliation through his work, which includes The Affirmation of Reconciliation Between Jews and Christians.Website:  https://www.theaffirmationofreconciliation.com/Contact US:  Rumble/ YouTube/ IG: @powerofmanpodcastEmail: powerofmanpodcast@gmail.com.Twitter: @rorypaquetteSTART YOUR OWN MEN"S MOVEMENT!  WE need more men to LEAD!  Join us here to learn how!   https://www.facebook.com/groups/490821906341560/?ref=share_group_linkYou have VALUE!  You are WORTH IT!  BELIEVE IT!

Radical Islamic terrorism struck yet again on Thursday—this time, in both Michigan and Virginia. That makes four separate Islamist terror attacks on the home front just in the past two weeks. At what point is enough finally enough? What can we do about this gargantuan subversive fifth column in our midst? All options, including deportation and denaturalization proceedings, must be on the table. Josh also offers a personal, direct plea to American Jews to arm and train themselves, and to take their security into their own hands. Later, Heather Johnston, Founder and Executive Director of the U.S. Israel Education Association, joins the program to discuss the war with Iran, the importance of U.S.-Israel relations, and the unholy war that many propagandists are now waging on the indispensable Jewish-Christian biblical alliance. Josh closes the show by analyzing the latest war-related comments from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and indicating what specifically he will be looking out for over the course of the weekend.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Josh opens the show by discussing the latest twists and turns in Operation Epic Fury. Mojtaba Khamenei is badly injured and governing as something of a "ghost ayatollah"—so who is calling the shots inside Iran? Also, what is the next step and the end game of this operation? Josh also begins to unravel the ongoing information operation against the Jewish-Christian biblical alliance, which has as its poisonous tip of the spear—who else?—Tucker Carlson himself. Later, Erick Stakelbeck, host of "Stakelbeck Tonight" on TBN and "The Watchman Newscast" on YouTube, joins Josh to discuss how to define victory in Operation Epic Fury, the great gaslighting operation that intends to unravel the indispensable Jewish-Christian biblical alliance, and why Christian Zionism and the concept of "Judeo-Christianity" flow naturally from Scripture and common sense alike. You don't want to miss this no holds barred conversation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Josh opens the show by discussing the latest twists and turns in Operation Epic Fury. Mojtaba Khamenei is badly injured and governing as something of a "ghost ayatollah"—so who is calling the shots inside Iran? Also, what is the next step and the end game of this operation? Josh also begins to unravel the ongoing information operation against the Jewish-Christian biblical alliance, which has as its poisonous tip of the spear—who else?—Tucker Carlson himself. Later, Erick Stakelbeck, host of "Stakelbeck Tonight" on TBN and "The Watchman Newscast" on YouTube, joins Josh to discuss how to define victory in Operation Epic Fury, the great gaslighting operation that intends to unravel the indispensable Jewish-Christian biblical alliance, and why Christian Zionism and the concept of "Judeo-Christianity" flow naturally from Scripture and common sense alike. You don't want to miss this no holds barred conversation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of Judaism's most unique and surprising works, the Zohar is the foundational text of Jewish mysticism. But when was it written? By whom? And what is its impact on Jewish culture and practice today?  Join Rabbinic Intern Rebecca Thau for a rich conversation with Sharon Koren, PhD, about these–and many more–questions. Dr. Koren, Associate Professor of Medieval Jewish Culture and the Dr. Norman J. Cohen Chair for an Emerging Scholar at HUC-JIR, received her PhD from Yale University in Medieval Studies. Her research focuses primarily on Jewish women's spirituality and Jewish-Christian relations in the Middle Ages. She regularly teaches courses on medieval Jewish philosophy, history, and the Zohar.

Why was the Epistle to the Hebrews written? Originally this epistle was written to a community of beleaguered Jewish Christians who had just suffered greatly by the Edict of Caesar Claudius, and then by some in their number defecting back into Judaism. Now, it seems that something worse was about to come their way. The writer to them has to remind them of - preeminently about the preeminence of Jesus the Christ. The writer pastorally urges these defectors to consider the evidence about Jesus which became the basis for their faith in Him in the first place. As the writer spoke about how Jesus has taken our guilt and shame upon Himself, I was struck by something I have been thinking quite a lot about: What if the former Prince Andrew walked in on one of my sermons? What would I want him to hear? This message answers those questions.

Is the Holocaust fading from living memory—and if so, what are the consequences? In this sobering and historically grounded conversation, Dru Johnson speaks with longtime Jerusalem resident and Anglican rector David Pileggi about why the Holocaust must be understood not merely as Jewish history, but as a defining event in modern human history. Pileggi argues that the Holocaust was not simply a tragic episode within World War II—it was central to the war's origins and its catastrophic consequences. Drawing on Christopher Browning's Ordinary Men, the discussion explores how middle-aged, non-ideological German reservists became mass shooters—not primarily because of fanaticism, but because of conformity, fear, propaganda, and social pressure. The conversation moves beyond gas chambers to the psychology of genocide, asking how “normal” people participate in extraordinary evil. The episode also examines the roots of antisemitism, conspiracy thinking, and scapegoating—patterns that continue to resurface in modern political discourse. Pileggi offers a nuanced perspective on Jewish-Christian relations, contemporary Israel, and the responsibility Christians bear in resisting dehumanization and ideological hatred. This episode challenges listeners not merely to remember history—but to act wisely in the present so that its darkest chapters are not repeated. To learn more about the tours mentioned in this episode, see here: https://narrowbridgetour.com/ If you are interested in Ordinary Men, you can learn more here: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/ordinary-men-christopher-r-browning?variant=32207518924834 We are listener supported. Give to the cause here: https://hebraicthought.org/give For more articles: https://thebiblicalmind.org/ Social Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HebraicThought Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hebraicthought Threads: https://www.threads.net/hebraicthought X: https://www.twitter.com/HebraicThought Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hebraicthought.org Chapters: 00:00 The Impact of Historical Memory 12:04 The Holocaust: Lessons for Today 18:20 Ordinary Men: The Psychology of Perpetrators 28:54 The Psychological Impact of War and Choices 35:30 Racial Nationalism and Its Consequences 40:34 The Role of Antisemitism in Nazi Propaganda 46:28 The Dangers of Dehumanization 53:19 Critiquing Israel and Supporting Jewish People  

Send a textKen Corkins and pastor Rocky Ellison resume Season 18,  noting upcoming travel breaks, and finish Romans chapter 2 by reading verses 17–29 from the Revised Standard Version to capture Paul's deliberate word choices. They discuss Paul's harsh critique of Jewish Christians who rely on the law and circumcision as marks of superiority while failing their responsibility to teach Gentiles, citing Isaiah 42 and 52 to show Israel was meant to be a light to the nations and that God's name is blasphemed when they fail. They explain Paul's diatribe against hypocrisy and his argument that outward circumcision is meaningless without obedience, using a wedding ring analogy, and conclude that true Jewishness and “circumcision” are inward matters of the heart, ending with Paul's pun linking “praise” to Judah/Jew. Next episode covers Romans 3:1–8.NEW!: Rate us at Podchaser Find us at www.pondergmc.org. Feedback is welcome: PonderMethodist@gmail.com Music performed by the Ponder GMC worship team. Cover Art: Joe Wagner Recorded, edited and mixed by Snikrock

Full Text of Readings First Sunday of Lent Lectionary: 22 The Saint of the day is Chair of Saint Peter The Story of the Chair of Saint Peter This feast commemorates Christ's choosing Peter to sit in his place as the servant-authority of the whole Church. After the “lost weekend” of pain, doubt, and self-torment, Peter hears the Good News. Angels at the tomb say to Magdalene, “The Lord has risen! Go, tell his disciples and Peter.” John relates that when he and Peter ran to the tomb, the younger outraced the older, then waited for him. Peter entered, saw the wrappings on the ground, the headpiece rolled up in a place by itself. John saw and believed. But he adds a reminder: “…[T]hey did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (John 20:9). They went home. There the slowly exploding, impossible idea became reality. Jesus appeared to them as they waited fearfully behind locked doors. “Peace be with you,” he said (John 20:21b), and they rejoiced. The Pentecost event completed Peter's experience of the risen Christ. “…[T]hey were all filled with the holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4a) and began to express themselves in foreign tongues and make bold proclamation as the Spirit prompted them. Only then can Peter fulfill the task Jesus had given him: “… [O]nce you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). He at once becomes the spokesman for the Twelve about their experience of the Holy Spirit—before the civil authorities who wished to quash their preaching, before the Council of Jerusalem, for the community in the problem of Ananias and Sapphira. He is the first to preach the Good News to the Gentiles. The healing power of Jesus in him is well attested: the raising of Tabitha from the dead, the cure of the crippled beggar. People carry the sick into the streets so that when Peter passed his shadow might fall on them. Even a saint experiences difficulty in Christian living. When Peter stopped eating with Gentile converts because he did not want to wound the sensibilities of Jewish Christians, Paul says, “…I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong…. [T]hey were not on the right road in line with the truth of the gospel…” (Galatians 2:11b, 14a). At the end of John's Gospel, Jesus says to Peter, “Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18). What Jesus said indicated the sort of death by which Peter was to glorify God. On Vatican Hill, in Rome, during the reign of Nero, Peter did glorify his Lord with a martyr's death, probably in the company of many Christians. Second-century Christians built a small memorial over his burial spot. In the fourth century, the Emperor Constantine built a basilica, which was replaced in the 16th century. Reflection Like the committee chair, the chair refers to the occupant, not the furniture. Its first occupant stumbled a bit, denying Jesus three times and hesitating to welcome gentiles into the new Church. But, as we know, he turned toward the light. Some of its later occupants have also stumbled a bit, sometimes even failed scandalously. As individuals, we may sometimes think a particular pope has let us down. Still, the office endures as a sign of the long tradition we cherish and as a focus for the universal Church.Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Recorded live at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, Pastor Doug Reed and Rabbi Pesach Wolicki are joined by Rabbi Elie Mischel from the Israel365 studio for a powerful conversation about one of the Bible's oldest and most transformative ideas: Shabbat. As Israel365 creates an immersive Shabbat experience for Christian leaders at NRB, the discussion explores why the Sabbath has become such a compelling spiritual doorway for Christians seeking deeper biblical roots. Together, they reflect on how Shabbat moves faith from constant productivity toward sacred presence, strengthens families, and builds meaningful Jewish-Christian relationships. Through personal stories, theological insight, and behind-the-scenes reflections from NRB, this episode reveals why an ancient Jewish practice is speaking so profoundly to modern believers and how shared spiritual rhythms can bring Jews and Christians closer together in a fractured world.

Greater Than the G.O.A.T.Hebrews 3:1–6Who's the Greatest of All Time?In football, fans argue over quarterbacks. In basketball, it's Jordan or LeBron. In soccer, Messi or Ronaldo. Every generation debates its heroes. Today we're asking that same question—but for the Bible.If you had asked a first-century Jewish believer, the answer would have been simple: Moses. He wasn't just a leader. He was the prophet, the lawgiver, the deliverer, the mediator. If you had Moses, you had everything.But Hebrews chapter 3 makes a bold claim: Jesus is greater.The Pressure to Go BackThe book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians under intense pressure. They were facing persecution and social rejection. Following Jesus wasn't easy. Going back to Judaism—to Moses—looked safer.Can you relate? Sometimes faith costs something. Maybe it's awkward conversations at work. Maybe it's tension in your family. In those moments, the “old life” can look comfortable.That's why the author writes:Hebrews 3:1–6 (NLT)“And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God… think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God's messenger and High Priest… Moses was certainly faithful in God's house as a servant… But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God's entire house. And we are God's house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.”Moses was faithful. But Jesus is greater.Why Moses? Because to understand how great Jesus is, you have to understand how great Moses was.1. The Prophet: The Mouthpiece vs. The MessageMoses was the great prophet of Israel—Moshe Rabbenu, “Moses our Teacher.” When God spoke, Moses delivered the mail.At the burning bush, God said:Exodus 3:10 (NLT)“Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”Moses went up the mountain and came down with God's words. He was the mediator. The messenger.But Hebrews tells us something bigger.Hebrews 1:1–2 (NLT)“Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.”Moses delivered a message. Jesus is the message.Moses told us what God said. Jesus showed us who God is. The difference isn't subtle—it's seismic.2. The Architect: The Snapshot vs. The Whole PictureMoses didn't just speak for God. He shaped a nation.At Sinai, he brought down the Ten Commandments. In a world ruled by tyrants, this was revolutionary. Authority answered to a higher authority. Justice wasn't based on mood; it was rooted in God's character.Even the Sabbath command was radical:“Six days you shall labor… but the seventh day is a sabbath.”In a world of slavery and subsistence farming, rest was unheard of. God declared that human worth wasn't measured by productivity.But even this was just a snapshot.Fifteen hundred years later, Jesus revealed the whole picture:Matthew 22:37–40 (NLT)“‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.'… ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”Moses gave structure. Jesus gave fulfillment.The law was never the final word—it was the frame around a greater portrait. Jesus didn't abolish the law; He completed it.3. The Servant: The Old House vs. The New HouseHebrews 3:5 says:“Moses was certainly faithful in God's house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later.”An illustration. A preview. A shadow.For centuries, God worked primarily through Israel. Kings like David. Prophets like Elijah and Isaiah. All servants in the house.But the house wasn't the destination—it was the conduit.Even the Law hinted at something bigger:Numbers 15:15 (NLT)“Native-born Israelites and foreigners are equal before the LORD and are subject to the same decrees.”Foreigners? Equal?It was there all along.Then comes the mic drop:“But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God's entire house. And we are God's house…”Not just Israel. Jews and Gentiles. Insiders and outsiders. The offer of salvation goes out to all.Moses served in the house. Jesus rules over it. And through Christ, we become it.The Testimony of MosesIf you asked Moses, “Are you the one we should follow?” he would point beyond himself.Jesus said:John 5:46 (NLT)“If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me.”That's the point of Hebrews 3.Moses was great. Faithful. Foundational. But his entire ministry was an illustration of what God would reveal later.Jesus is greater than the prophet because He is the Word made flesh.Greater than the architect because He fulfills the law.Greater than the servant because He is the Son.And if you belong to Him, you are part of His house.So when the pressure comes—when faith feels costly—remember this:Don't retreat to the shadow when you have the substance.Don't go back to the servant when you have the Son.Don't settle for the snapshot when you've seen the whole picture.Jesus is greater than the G.O.A.T.

Welcome to our verse-by-verse study through the Book of James on The Finding Freedom Podcast

Greater Than the G.O.A.T.Hebrews 3:1–6Who's the Greatest of All Time?In football, fans argue over quarterbacks. In basketball, it's Jordan or LeBron. In soccer, Messi or Ronaldo. Every generation debates its heroes. Today we're asking that same question—but for the Bible.If you had asked a first-century Jewish believer, the answer would have been simple: Moses. He wasn't just a leader. He was the prophet, the lawgiver, the deliverer, the mediator. If you had Moses, you had everything.But Hebrews chapter 3 makes a bold claim: Jesus is greater.The Pressure to Go BackThe book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians under intense pressure. They were facing persecution and social rejection. Following Jesus wasn't easy. Going back to Judaism—to Moses—looked safer.Can you relate? Sometimes faith costs something. Maybe it's awkward conversations at work. Maybe it's tension in your family. In those moments, the “old life” can look comfortable.That's why the author writes:Hebrews 3:1–6 (NLT)“And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God… think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God's messenger and High Priest… Moses was certainly faithful in God's house as a servant… But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God's entire house. And we are God's house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.”Moses was faithful. But Jesus is greater.Why Moses? Because to understand how great Jesus is, you have to understand how great Moses was.1. The Prophet: The Mouthpiece vs. The MessageMoses was the great prophet of Israel—Moshe Rabbenu, “Moses our Teacher.” When God spoke, Moses delivered the mail.At the burning bush, God said:Exodus 3:10 (NLT)“Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”Moses went up the mountain and came down with God's words. He was the mediator. The messenger.But Hebrews tells us something bigger.Hebrews 1:1–2 (NLT)“Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.”Moses delivered a message. Jesus is the message.Moses told us what God said. Jesus showed us who God is. The difference isn't subtle—it's seismic.2. The Architect: The Snapshot vs. The Whole PictureMoses didn't just speak for God. He shaped a nation.At Sinai, he brought down the Ten Commandments. In a world ruled by tyrants, this was revolutionary. Authority answered to a higher authority. Justice wasn't based on mood; it was rooted in God's character.Even the Sabbath command was radical:“Six days you shall labor… but the seventh day is a sabbath.”In a world of slavery and subsistence farming, rest was unheard of. God declared that human worth wasn't measured by productivity.But even this was just a snapshot.Fifteen hundred years later, Jesus revealed the whole picture:Matthew 22:37–40 (NLT)“‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.'… ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”Moses gave structure. Jesus gave fulfillment.The law was never the final word—it was the frame around a greater portrait. Jesus didn't abolish the law; He completed it.3. The Servant: The Old House vs. The New HouseHebrews 3:5 says:“Moses was certainly faithful in God's house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later.”An illustration. A preview. A shadow.For centuries, God worked primarily through Israel. Kings like David. Prophets like Elijah and...

he second part of my conversation with  @DavidWilberBlog  about why Jews Do Not Accept Jesus.In this episode of The Fifth Question, we dive into one of the most sensitive and fascinating topics in Jewish–Christian dialogue: Jews for Jesus, Messianic Judaism, and why these movements are generally not accepted as part of the Jewish community.I sit down with Christian author and teacher David Wilber for a thoughtful, respectful conversation about:What Messianic Judaism claims and how the Jewish community draws its boundariesWhether Jews for Jesus represents Judaism or ChristianityPaul, the early Jesus movement, and the “parting of the ways”How Jews historically understood Messiah vs. how Christians understand JesusWhether the New Testament's resurrection claims hold historical weightIf Isaiah's “light to the nations” prophecy fits JesusThe philosophical question: What counts as evidence for the Messiah?We finish with a 30-minute debate on whether there is compelling evidence—in the Bible or in broader philosophy—for accepting Jesus, followed by my own 5-minute reflection on why Jewish-Christian conversations often feel asymmetrical and how centuries of history still shape interfaith dynamics today.If you care about theology, history, philosophy, or Jewish-Christian dialogue, this is an episode you won't want to miss.#jesus #jewsforjesus #messianicjudaism #jesuschrist #jewishthought

This month of learning is sponsored by our dear friends Matt and Mollie Landes of Riverdale for the neshama of Dovid Yehonatan ben Yitzchak Yehuda.In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Professors Elisheva Carlebach and Debra Kaplan, scholars of early modern Jewish history, about women's religious, social, and communal roles in early modern Jewish life.In this episode we discuss:How have women's prayer and shul-going habits changed over time? When did the women's chevra kadisha become a Jewish institution? How did Jewish emancipation alter the structure of Jewish life and its implications for women? Tune in for a conversation about how women shaped—and were shaped by—the structures of the early modern kehillah.Interview begins at 9:13.Elisheva Carlebach is the Salo Wittmayer Baron Professor of Jewish History, Culture, and Society at Columbia University and Director of its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies. A specialist in Early Modern European Jewish history, her work explores Jewish–Christian relations, religious dissent, conversion, messianism, and communal life. She is the award-winning author of The Pursuit of Heresy, Divided Souls, and Palaces of Time, and has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and honors including Columbia's Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Award.Debra Kaplan teaches early modern Jewish history at Bar-Ilan University. A social historian, she is the author of Beyond Expulsion (2011) and The Patrons and their Poor (University of Pennsylvania 2020; winner of the Rosl und Paul Arnsberg-Preis).References:“Notes Toward Finding the Right Question” by Cynthia OzickA Woman Is Responsible for Everything: Jewish Women in Early Modern Europe by Debra Kaplan and Elisheva CarlebachWomen and the Messianic Heresy of Sabbatai Zevi, 1666 - 1816 by Ada Rapoport-AlbertMothers and Children: Jewish Family Life in Medieval Europe by Elisheva BaumgartenComing of Age in Medieval Egypt: Female Adolescence, Jewish Law, and Ordinary Culture by Eve KrakowskiFor more 18Forty:NEWSLETTER: 18forty.org/joinCALL: (212) 582-1840EMAIL: info@18forty.orgWEBSITE: 18forty.orgIG: @18fortyX: @18_fortyWhatsApp: join hereBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

In this episode, Rabbi Marc Katz sits down with Professor Daniel Langton, author of Darwin in the Jewish Imagination: Jews' Engagement with Evolutionary Theory (Oxford UP, 2026), to explore how Jewish thinkers responded to one of the most disruptive ideas of the modern world: evolutionary theory. Spanning a century of debate, the conversation traces how traditionalists, reformers, secular intellectuals, mystics, and philosophers reimagined Judaism in light of Darwin—from Europe to the United States. Rather than a simple science-versus-religion clash, Langton reveals a rich and creative dialogue shaped by modernity, Jewish-Christian relations, and a distinctive Jewish tendency toward pan(en)theistic thinking—understanding God as deeply intertwined with an evolving universe. Together, Katz and Langton explore how Darwin forced Jewish thinkers to rethink creation, divine action, and morality, and how those debates continue to shape modern Jewish belief and identity. Daniel Langton is Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Manchester and a leading scholar of modern Jewish thought and Jewish-Christian relations. His work focuses on how Jews have engaged major intellectual movements of modernity, including science, philosophy, and theology. Rabbi Marc Katz is a congregational rabbi, author, and teacher whose work bridges classical Jewish texts and contemporary cultural questions. He is the author of Yochanan's Gamble: Judaism's Pragmatic Approach to Life and writes widely on Judaism, ethics, and modern life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

How should Christians steward money in the end times without fear, greed, or confusion?In this episode of the Visibly Fit Podcast, I sit down with author and Bible teacher Steve Wohlberg to talk about biblical money stewardship and why financial wisdom matters now more than ever. Many believers struggle with the tension between preparing for the future and trusting God fully—especially when Scripture reminds us that Jesus is coming soon.We unpack how financial stress impacts mental health, physical well-being, and even relationships, and why ignoring money doesn't make us more spiritual. Steve shares why the Bible calls us to both be ready and occupy until Christ returns, and how wise financial decisions can actually bring greater peace, clarity, and freedom to serve others.If you've ever felt uneasy talking about money in church, overwhelmed by finances, or unsure how to plan while keeping your faith first, this conversation will give you practical insight and biblical encouragement you can actually use.Chapters:[00:00] Podcast Preview[01:25] Topic and Guest Introduction[05:05] Steve's Wake-Up Call About Retirement & Stewardship[09:39] The Interconnection of Health and Finances[12:27] Giving vs. Earning: Why Both Matter Biblically[14:12] How Steve Manages and Learn About Finance[16:40] Two Pillars of Truth[18:05] The Love of Money vs. Wise Stewardship[21:22] End-Times Economics: Buying, Selling & Control[23:10] Why Financial Peace Improves Longevity[25:16] Practical Steps for Financial Health[27:20] Investing Wisely for the Future[30:17] Building Wealth for Kingdom Work[33:45] The 10 Commandments & Financial Wisdom[37:40] Why This Book Is a Missionary Tool[39:30] Conclusion and ResourcesResources mentioned:Get your copy of Be Wise With Your Money in These End Times by Steve W. Wohlberg at White Horse Media's Website: whitehorsemedia.comJoin My Visibly Fit 7-Week Accelerator ProgramConnect with today's guest:Steve Wohlberg is the Speaker and Director of White Horse Media, a global ministry known for clear, Christ-centered biblical teaching. He is a television producer, radio host, international seminar speaker, and the author of more than 40 books covering a wide range of Bible topics.A Jewish Christian from Los Angeles, Steve holds a B.A. in Theology from La Sierra College and a Master of Divinity from Andrews Theological Seminary. Over the years, he has appeared on more than 500 radio and television programs and has been featured in History Channel and National Geographic documentaries, including Secrets of the Seven Seals, Strange Rituals: The Apocalypse, Armageddon Battle Plan, and Animal Apocalypse.Steve has also spoken by special invitation inside the Pentagon and the U.S. Senate. Deeply respected for his biblically grounded and Christ-centered approach, his ministry continues to reach audiences around the world with messages of truth, clarity, and hope.P.S. If you're just checking out the show to see if it's a good fit for you, welcome!If you're really serious about becoming Visibly Fit, you'll get the best experience if you download the worksheets available at https://wendiepett.com/visiblyfitpodcast.

The Seven Attributes of Jesus (Christology 1)Big Idea: Jesus Christ is not just a chapter in the story of God; He is the Author, the Hero, and the Ending. When we see Jesus for who He truly is, every other priority in our lives finds its proper place.Today we begin a nine-week journey through the Book of Hebrews, a letter written to magnify the greatness of Jesus Christ. Hebrews isn't primarily about religious rules, moral improvement, or spiritual techniques. It's about Jesus—who He is and what He has done. Everything else flows from that foundation.The original audience was likely Jewish Christians living under Roman rule, facing intense persecution. As pressure mounted, many were tempted to abandon their faith in Jesus and return to the familiarity and safety of traditional Judaism. Hebrews speaks directly into that tension with one clear message: Jesus is greater than anyone or anything that came before Him. To walk away from Him would be to walk away from the fulfillment of all God's promises.The author of Hebrews remains anonymous, one of the great mysteries of the New Testament. While Paul may have influenced it, the writing style is far more polished and rhetorically sophisticated than Paul's letters. Hebrews chapter 1 proves this immediately. Verses 1–4 form a single, majestic sentence in the original Greek—an exordium, designed to grab attention with both beauty and weight.Hebrews 1:1–4 (NLT) sets the stage:“Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son…”In the Old Testament, God spoke in fragments—a dream here, a burning bush there, a prophet's warning along the way. But in Jesus, God didn't just send messages; He sent the Message. This is Christology—the study of the person and work of Jesus Christ—and Hebrews wastes no time getting to the point.In verses 2–3, the author unleashes a rapid-fire description of Jesus using seven distinct attributes. In Scripture, the number seven represents completeness and perfection. Together, these form a full portrait of the Son.Jesus is the Heir—the goal of history. God has promised everything to Him as an inheritance. History is not random; it is moving toward the coronation of King Jesus. He is the “why” behind all creation.Jesus is the Creator—the architect of reality. Through Him, God made the universe. Jesus is not a created being; He is the source of all things. Nothing exists apart from His will.Jesus is the Radiance—the shining glory of God. He doesn't merely reflect God's glory like the moon reflects sunlight; He radiates it. The Son is the visible manifestation of the invisible God—“Light from Light.”Jesus is the Expression—the exact imprint of God's nature. The Greek word charaktēr refers to a stamp or seal. Jesus doesn't resemble God; He perfectly represents Him. To see Jesus is to see God.Jesus is the Sustainer—the glue of the cosmos. He holds everything together by the power of His word. The universe doesn't persist on autopilot; it endures because Jesus commands it to.Jesus is the Savior—the cleanser of sin. When He purified us from our sins, the work was finished. Unlike Old Testament priests who never sat down, Jesus completed the work once for all.Finally, Jesus is the Ruler—the seated King. He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, a position of total authority. The victory is won.Hebrews 1:4 reminds us that Jesus is far greater than angels, traditions, or anything else we might be tempted to trust. For believers facing hardship, this truth re-centers everything.The message of Hebrews is clear:...

Josh Hammer analyzes the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement strategy through the role of Tom Homan, including the arrest of Don Lemon, before turning to the cultural fascination surrounding Luigi Mangione and what it reveals about America’s growing confusion over justice and the death penalty. Rabbi Pinchas Taylor then joins to discuss the week’s Torah portion and the importance of Jewish-Christian bridge-building, and Josh closes with an encouraging reflection from a Young America’s Foundation event in Florida, offering a rare white-pill moment about the next generation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Synopsis:Paul expressed concern that the Corinthian church would not have their offering ready upon his upcoming visit to Corinth.  As we saw last time, this offering had two important purposes.  The first was that there was a genuine need in Jerusalem as a result of an extended famine.  Gentile churches in Macedonia and Achaia were spared from the famine and had the means to send a significant gift to the struggling church in Jerusalem.  The second reason this mattered was that once the debate over justification had been settled at the Jerusalem Council, Jewish Christians accepted Gentile believers as their brothers and sisters–but there was still tension between the two groups who had a long and mutual history of distrust.  An offering from Gentile Christians during a time of great need in the mother church would go a long way to alleviate these tensions.But as we read in chapter 9–a continuation of the previous section of 2 Corinthians–it became clear that although the Corinthians planned to collect such an offering previously, they never followed through on their promise to contribute.  Paul was in Macedonia when word came from Corinth that the offering was not ready.  Apparently, Paul's critics and opponents in Corinth raised questions about both Paul's integrity and the true purpose of the offering.  Meanwhile, Paul had been telling the Macedonians (literally boasting) that the Corinthians promised to do likewise.  The Macedonians gave beyond their means assuming the Corinthians would do the same.  The Corinthians hadn't yet given at all.  This was shameful and embarrassing to all concerned.In chapter 9, Paul discusses the proper motives behind Christian charity.  He does away with the tithe and reminds his readers that Christians are to give as much as they can–if they can do so freely and joyfully.  He tells the Corinthians that Christians do not “give to get”–no prosperity gospel here.  Rather they are to give what they can when there is a genuine need.  The model for such giving is God's grace as manifest in the cross of Jesus Christ, the proof that God loves us and cares for us.  Christian giving does not appease an angry god (as the pagans taught), it does not ensure that we'll prosper financially or regain health (as the prosperity gospelers claim), and giving is always to be done simply because it is good to give–especially to those in need.  While there is a spiritual blessing for the cheerful giver, the Christian offering is but an act of gratitude in response to the inexpressible gift God has given to us in the person of his son. For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/